Namibia made history on Friday by swearing in Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its first female president.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, a long-time loyalist of the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo), won November’s election with 58% of the vote. At the age of 72, she becomes only the second woman in Africa to be directly elected as president, following Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Her inauguration marks a significant milestone for gender equality in Namibia and across the continent.
Nandi-Ndaitwah’s Challenges Ahead: Unemployment, Inequality, and Poverty
Nandi-Ndaitwah takes office at a critical time for Namibia, a country grappling with high unemployment, stark inequality, and widespread poverty. Government statistics show that unemployment rose to 36.9% in 2023, up from 33.4% in 2018.
Namibia is also one of the world’s most unequal nations, with a Gini coefficient of 59.1 in 2015. The World Bank projects that poverty will remain high at 17.2% in 2024.
Addressing Land Ownership and Economic Inequality
One of the most pressing issues Nandi-Ndaitwah faces is land ownership. White farmers, who make up just 1.8% of the population, own approximately 70% of the country’s farmland. This disparity is a lingering legacy of apartheid-era policies.
Nandi-Ndaitwah has pledged to address this imbalance while adhering to the “willing-buyer, willing-seller” principle, which ensures that no one is forced to sell their land. She has also emphasized the need to add value to Namibia’s mineral exports rather than relying on raw material exports.
Meanwhile, the new president has outlined plans to diversify Namibia’s economy by focusing on creative industries and reforming the education sector to align with new economic realities.
“We need to focus on adding value to what we extract from the ground,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said, highlighting the importance of moving beyond raw material exports to create sustainable economic growth.
A Monumental Step for Namibian Women in Leadership
Nandi-Ndaitwah’s election is a landmark moment for women in leadership, not only in Namibia but across Africa. She joins Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan as one of the continent’s few female heads of state.
In an interview with the BBC, Nandi-Ndaitwah expressed her hope that her presidency would inspire other nations to recognize women’s capabilities in leadership roles. “It’s a good thing that we as countries are realizing that just as men [can do], women can also hold the position of authority,” she said.
While Nandi-Ndaitwah is proud to represent women in leadership, she has called for her presidency to be judged on its merits rather than her gender. “If things go well, then it will be seen as a good example,” she told the BBC. “But if anything happens, like it can happen in any administration under men, there are also those who would rather say: ‘Look at women!’”
