Namibia’s New President Names Witbooi as Deputy, Trims Cabinet

(Bloomberg) -- Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah appointed long-serving lawmaker Lucia Witbooi as her deputy as she unveiled a streamlined cabinet, consolidating key ministries and placing oil and gas oversight under her own office.

Witbooi, 64, a former deputy minister, previously worked in education and home affairs before rising through the ranks of the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation, or Swapo. She becomes the second woman to hold the vice presidency in the southern African country, which is on the verge of an oil boom but which faces significant economic challenges, including a 37% unemployment rate.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, who took office on Friday as Namibia’s first female president, also named Elijah Ngurare as prime minister, Natangwe Ithete as deputy prime minister and minister of mines, and Erica Shafudah as finance minister.

The new administration has reduced the number of ministries to 14 from 21, merging trade into international relations, shifting fisheries under agriculture, and integrating industrialization with mines and energy.

Namibia is set to become a key oil and gas producer, following offshore discoveries in the Orange Basin by TotalEnergies SE and Shell Plc, with commercial production expected as early as 2029.

The government has pledged to create 500,000 jobs over the next five years and invest N$85 billion ($4.7 billion) in infrastructure, manufacturing, and renewable energy.

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