WINDHOEK (Reuters) – Namibia’s newly elected President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Saturday named Ericah Shafudah as finance minister and Lucia Witbooi as vice president in a reduced cabinet.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, who was sworn in on Friday after her SWAPO party secured victory in November, also named Natangwe Ithete as mines and energy minister and Selma Ashipala-Musavyi as foreign affairs and trade minister.
Shafudah worked in the finance ministry for about 21 years, with her last role there being the executive director of finance before resigning in 2021 to join the World Food Programme as deputy country director.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, Namibia’s first female president, reduced her cabinet to 14 ministers and seven deputies from 21 ministers and 21 deputies by merging some offices and transferring some mandates to the ministers, she said in a televised speech.
This was aimed at eradicating duplications, cutting down on expenditure and ensuring smooth and effective implementation of the government’s development programmes, she said.
The management of new emerging industries of oil and gas will fall under the president’s office, she added.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, 72, pledged on Friday to boost investments in the agricultural sector and diversify the resource-focused economy in an attempt to address high unemployment rates.
(Reporting by Nyasha Nyaungwa; writing by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Mark Heinrich and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
