Our Star of the Week is the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) Lieutenant-General John Mutwa, who issued an internal memo to the effect no members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) will be permitted to take up ad-hoc vacancies recently advertised by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN). Mutwa wants such job opportunities to be offered to unemployed Namibian youth. Namibia faces a high unemployment rate that currently stands at a record 43 percent.
“This communication serves to inform that lately my office has been inundated with queries pertaining to NDF members who wish to apply for the temporary advertised positions at the ECN whereby any government official is eligible for appointment on a seconded basis,” wrote the lieutenant-general.
“As chief of the defence force, I hereby direct that no member of the NDF will be released to be seconded at the ECN – we should rather give this opportunity to the unemployed youth to fill those temporary positions,” he explained.
The NDF chief’s decision was this week welcomed by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp, who hailed Mutwa’s decision as noble.