Impact of Geingob’s 'two governments'

A lack on agency and originality on the part of a principal political leader such as a president of a country will always result in copy-and-paste leadership. In other words, a leadership that can be equated to a famous saying, ‘monkey see, monkey do'.

A lack of agency and originality on the part of a principal political leader, such as a president of a country, will always result in copy-and-paste leadership. In other words, leadership that can be equated to the famous assertion, 'Monkey See, Monkey Do',

When he came to power, President Hage Geingob introduced a system that was unfamiliar and at odds with our governance architecture.

Whereas the constitution states that the attorney-general is the principal legal advisor to the president and government, he appointed an advisor on constitutional affairs.

While he had a minister responsible for youth, he also appointed a youth advisor. Our country has both a minister of economic planning and a presidential economic advisor, who are all appointed by the president and report to him. It is the same with the information minister and press secretary. The list continues.

At the time, Geingob referred to this group of advisors as the "A-Team." In both the context of grading and the alphabet, 'A' signifies the best and the first. It became evident that he also had a team of a lower grade, positioned at the secondary level.

Separate teams

As time went by, these two teams continued to work separately and bicker behind the scenes. For business people and foreigners alike, it became clear that to get things done, you were better served through the ears of an advisor. While other ministers came to Cabinet through an election as members of parliament, there is a crop of ministers who were appointed directly into parliament, such as the finance minister and others who are part of the eight. On close inspection, these are disguised members of the A-Team.

At the practical level, while the ordinary traditional ministers made their submission to Cabinet and other structures, the A-Team created a clever strategy through the appointment of their friends to several presidential commissions, where their plans were directed and disguised as independent recommendations. Initiatives such as the high-level panel on the economy, the fourth industrial revolution task force, the green hydrogen council, and others.

Green hydrogen

The green hydrogen team has been the most successful in demonstrating that there are indeed two structures of power within the executive.

Tjekero Tweya, who chairs an important parliamentary committee on natural resources, thought he was brave by telling members of parliament about the secrecy surrounding the project. While Tweya was publicly told to stop making references to a State House-led project, this was confirmed by minister Obeth Kandjoze, who proclaimed that green hydrogen is an executive project.

When AR Activist Job Amupanda released the draft agreement between Hyphen and the government, he divided public opinion. Some felt he should not do so, while others felt he must continue exposing corruption.

A colleague discussed Amupanda’s revelations with a Cabinet minister. She was told that a number of Cabinet colleagues were equally shocked by the contents of the draft agreement. It is without a doubt that the green hydrogen programme is an activity of the A-Team.

Examine structures

If this was not clear, the recent revelations that an institution has been created to oversee the implementation of green hydrogen and will be headed by the economic advisor as CEO must have cleared any doubt anyone might have had.

James Mnyupe, the CEO, is solely responsible for the recruitment of employees for this implementation authority, which in actual fact is a state-owned enterprise disguised as an agency. It is surely not subject to public enterprise laws. When quizzed by the media, energy minister Tom Alweendo only stated that "it was decided" – excusing himself and signalling higher authority.

What is left of us is to examine the impact of these two structures. Are they working? Is one more effective than the other? If one is more effective, what is the plan with the ineffective one? Are they complementary? And what about the future? This analysis must urgently take place.

- Muthoni waKongola is a native of Kongola in the Zambezi Region, primarily concerned with analysing society and offering ideas for a better Namibia. She is reachable at [email protected] or @wakongola on Twitter.