2018-06-25Staff Report 2 Kuzeeko Tjitemisa WINDHOEK- Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) new CEO Theo Mujoro has vowed to strive towards greater openness and transparency in order to increase trust and confidence in the electoral body. Speaking to New Era yesterday after his appointment as head of ECN effective September 1, Mujoro, 44, said he accepts his appointment as ECN CEO with humility and takes the new responsibility very seriously. Mujoro, who is the current ECN director of operations, said the current ECN leadership has already put in place the required building blocks to enhance business processes and improve program execution across the electoral cycle. Mujoro will take over from his current boss Professor Paul Isaak, whose term comes to an end in August. “I will build on the existing foundation in order to increase operational efficiency and cultivate a high performance culture,” said the incoming chief. More specifically, he said, he would focus to strive towards greater openness and transparency in order to increase trust and confidence amongst the electorate, political parties, civil society and the Namibian public at large. He said he would expand and strengthen the ECN’s organisational structure to make it more responsive to the needs of a growing voter population. Also, he said he would work towards establishing ECN’s regional infrastructure and increase the organisation’s regional presence in all 14 regions of the country. Furthermore, Mujoro said he would increase youth participation in electoral processes and mainstream other marginalised groupings “I will accelerate enhancement of electoral processes and procedures to make them more responsive to voters’ needs,” he said. Who is Theo Mujoro? Mujoro was born in Windhoek on July 13, 1974 and matriculated at Augustineum Secondary School in 1993 where he served as president of the student representative council (SRC) in his matric year. In 1995, Mujoro commenced his tertiary studies and completed a national diploma in public administration at the then Polytechnic of Namibia. At Polytechnic, he held the position of vice-president of the SRC before becoming president of the same body in 1996 and 1997. By virtue of his positions in the SRC he represented Polytechnic students in the senate and council of the Polytechnic. In 2007, Mujoro, obtained a master’s degree in public management from the University of Potsdam, Germany. He worked as trainee journalist for the Namibia Press Agency (Nampa) based at Keetmanshoop in 1998. Between 2000/2001 he served as personal assistant to late speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Mose Tjitendero. Mujoro was deputy chair of the National Assembly Affirmative Action Committee. He was also chairperson of the Joint House Editorial Committee. Between 2001 and 2008, Mujoro was the executive assistant to then director of elections, Joram Rukambe. Between 2008 and 2012, he was ECN’s deputy director for registration and planning. From 2012 to date, Mujoro has been the director for electoral operations. He has observed elections in numerous countries including the United States of America, South Africa, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Georgia. Mujoro also represented the ECN at regional and international fora on multiple occasions, such as the SADC Electoral Commissions Forum, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the Association of World Election Bodies. He is a US state alumnus, having participated in the 2005 International Leadership Visitors Program on the invitation of the US State Department. 2018-06-25Staff Report 2
