With Namibians having participated in a highly contested Presidential and National Assembly election, the masses spoke their wishes by giving the ruling party, Swapo, the vote of confidence. 

This is another mandate to lead this beautiful country for the next five years. 

As such, Swapo entered a social contract with the nation based on its campaign manifesto and the vision President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (NNN) had set for the country – a vision of hope and a better tomorrow.

As pronounced by the President-elect, it won’t be business as usual. Everyone must roll up their sleeves and work towards a common future. “We must have a radical shift in addressing the plight of the people, especially the downtrodden and vulnerable communities.”  

For NNN, who broke the glass-ceiling, the time to do so is now.

Unquestionably, the youth vote was crucial. While queuing-up to cast that vote in the 12-hour marathon and scorching heat at the Independence Memorial Museum (IMM) in Windhoek – one of the many polling booths in the country, a youthful voter had loudly remarked the joke of many by saying: “It is better to suffer for a day than for the next five years.” 

And coincidentally, I met one of the young men from the IMM polling booth at the just ended Swapo victory celebrations at the Sam Nujoma stadium. He tapped my shoulder and said: “Ours was not a wasted vote.” The youthful face meant what he said! There was so much conviction filled with vigour in his voice.

Meaning, the nation, especially young people, cast a vote that renewed hope for a brighter future in the Namibian house, where no one would feel left out. Saying, the NNN vote has truly rejuvenated and brought hope in the lives of many of the toiling and suffering masses across the country.

Given the choice before the electorate, Swapo and NNN were the darlings of many first-time voters, so were those of the thousands across the country.  

A liberation movement that had ushered Namibian independence and was now working tirelessly to better Namibian lives, whose results are obvious to the naked eye. Swapo had won the hearts of its citizenry.

If anything, the choice was coming after the many ill-distorted and skewed comparisons with out-voted and slowly dying liberation movements across the African continent, as was the fate that befell South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC), failing to win a majority in parliament and leading to the formation of a Government of National Unity, or of the fate that Botswana’s Democratic Party (BDP) experienced by losing the 2024 national elections – bringing in a new president and new governing party in the country’s 58-year history.

Today, the million-dollar question on everyone’s lips is how will NNN assemble her Cabinet? It looks like it will be a tough balancing act – considering Swapo’s 51 seats plus the eight (with no voting powers) that the President appoints to the National Assembly. 

New Era’s last publication of 6 December 2024 titled: “NNN’s executive puzzle … as analysts weigh in” by Aletta Shikololo, says there is no doubt who will be in and who will be out from among the party’s heavyweights. 

If that was a nightmare by itself, how will NNN reward the likes of Swapo Secretary General Sophia Shaningwa and Kaire Mbuende who stood by her through thick and thin? Yes, and the likes of James Sankwasa. Equally, there are still many others who should indeed be rewarded for their loyalty, hard work, and commitment to the President.  In her, they saw NNN as the messiah and change-maker of the Namibia house, so deserved a modest pat on the back. 

There is a saying: “Doing the same thing and expecting different results.” NNN has the best chance to be Namibia’s first president who could invoke Article 1(3) of the Namibia Constitution in totality, whose doctrine recognizes the existence of a three-legged government – executive, legislature, and judiciary, which should be independent of each other. 

The dichotomy brought by Article 35(1) of the Constitution is a dilemma to the concept of separation of powers, which needs fixing.  

How could one be a minister, an executive, and a member of the legislature at the same time and uphold the notion of checks and balances? It cannot work. 

If that were to happen in Namibia, Article 32 (5) (c) of appointing eight non-voting members to the National Assembly would have to be abolished because the President would now be in a position to appoint that Cabinet without having his or her hands tied. 

It would result in truly realising the separation of powers by the three organs of government and push for trust, transparency, and accountability. 

That will improve service delivery and NNN will have many positions to fill for the smooth running of government operations. 

To the President-elect, this journey won’t be a road paved in gold. Tough decisions will have to be made. Without any doubt, in NNN, the millions of Namibians see light at the end of the tunnel. 

If anything, the President-elect must surround herself with people that want the NNN presidency to succeed. You are a role model not only to the “girl child”, but to all that commit themselves to a good cause. Yours is a noble call!

Overall, Namibians from all walks of life are looking forward to the NNN presidency, which would require all to hold hands to advance the interest of the Land of the Brave. Therefore, all Namibians should play their part to the success of the NNN presidency and the Namibian house. 

Simply, let the NNN presidency shine for Namibia and the world.

*Dr Joseph Mulife Muchali is a student of political studies. The views expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent anyone or any organisation.