President Hage Geingob has once again nominated Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Paulus Noa and his deputy Erna van der Merwe for reappointment for another five years. 

Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila told the National Assembly yesterday while seeking the August House’s blessing. Lawmakers met yesterday for an extraordinary parliament session and are due to deliberate on the appointments this afternoon. 

Noa and his deputy advocate Erna van der Merwe’s terms come to an end this month. Their contracts ended on 31 December 2020. 

According to the Anti-Corruption Act, the director general and deputy director general are appointed on a full-time basis for five years and may be reappointed upon expiry of their term of office. 

Geingob also nominated Elsie Nghikembua (48) as the new chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) following interviews held in May this year. The other nominated commissioners are University of Namibia lecturer Emmerentia Leonard and former director of elections Joram Rukambe. Parliament is expected to rubber stamp the nomination during today’s session. 

Nghikembua, who served as commissioner for the last five years, was eligible for selection and will replace Notemba Tjipueja, who was not eligible. 

The new commissioners will join Gerson Tjihenuna and Evaristus Evaristus, who were appointed to the commission in 2019. Nghikembua, who is the former deputy executive director of the Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management (Nipam), is currently the assistant director at Unam’s Namibia Business School.  She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Unam and a degree in public administration, among other qualifications. Rukambe, who is also a former New Era  enior journalist after independence, is no stranger to the electoral body after having served as the institution’s director. He is currently the region’s electoral advisor at United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and is based in Zambia. 

Leonard, who is employed by Unam as a lecturer, has over 15 years of experience in the social welfare sector, having worked in both the public and private sectors. The three contested against Maria Amupolo, Munolwisho Ipangelua, Francina Keendjele, Ndilimeke Mavulu, Andreas Maseke, Vilyo Ndapopiwa, Hendrik Tjibeba, Ellison Tjirera, Rui Tyitende, Rachel Mundilo, Gerson Sindano and Petrus van Zyl. -ktjitemisa@nepc.com.na