Shifeta open to Swapo VP bid if called upon

Swapo member of parliament Pohamba Shifeta (57), who was dropped from Cabinet in March, says he did not “commit a crime” by contesting Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah for the party’s vice-president position at the 2022 congress and would do it again if called upon.The former tourism minister is among several senior politicians excluded from the new Cabinet, with newly sworn-in head of state Nandi-Ndaitwah retaining only three ministers from the previous administration and appointing 11 new ones to her 14-member Cabinet.While many former ministers did not retain their Cabinet positions after failing to secure parliamentary seats in last year’s general election, Shifeta was one of three who kept their parliamentary seat but were not reappointed. The other two were former finance minister Ipumbu Shiimi and former fisheries minister Derek Klazen.Speaking on NTV talk show The Agenda on Sunday, Shifeta said he does not want to speculate whether his Cabinet exclusion was linked to his bid for Swapo’s vice-presidency during the 2022 elective congress, where he stood against Nandi-Ndaitwah and Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila.At the time, former president Hifikepunye Pohamba had urged Shifeta to withdraw from the race and support Nandi-Ndaitwah in retaining the position, which was widely seen as a stepping stone to succeeding Hage Geingob as Namibia’s next president. Shifeta, however, declined the advice.Nandi-Ndaitwah subsequently won the race with 421 votes, while Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and Shifeta received 270 and 91 votes, respectively.Freedom of choice Asked whether he believes his exclusion from Cabinet was due to his contestation against Nandi-Ndaitwah, Shifeta said: “I don’t think so and I don’t want to assume.”He added: “We have freedom of choice. We have freed this country, we have democracy and we have institutionalised that democracy in our institutions [including Swapo]. Whatever happened, happened. Competing for positions happens in all institutions, and in [Swapo] people are free to contest, but of course different people react differently to [this].”Shifeta explained that he was nominated to run and accepted the challenge. “Me standing was not initiated by myself. People felt, ‘We want you to compete for this,’ and I heeded that call,” he explained. “And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I didn’t commit any crime. Many people before me did that.”President&#039;s decision Shifeta admitted that he had not been informed in advance about his exclusion from Cabinet, but noted that it was not an obligation. “It’s many of us who did not make it back to Cabinet and the president is not obliged to inform us.“I’ve not delved deep into the why question because it’s a normal thing for a new government to have its own choices. It’s the president’s prerogative," he said. The former Cabinet minister said he has no regrets about running for the vice-presidency and remains open to doing so again if approached by party comrades.“If I get called upon again, I’ll do it. I am a free man and when you’re free, you use that freedom to make your choices, as long as you know that what you do is morally right and legally correct,” the Swapo central committee member said.“I’ve not done anything wrong. Therefore, I feel this is something that can be repeated if there’s a call for me to stand. I believe I can do the job,” Shifeta, who currently serves as the party’s legal secretary, added.Swapo’s next elective congress is scheduled for 2027, where top positions will once again be up for contestation. If Nandi-Ndaitwah retains her role as party leader, the vice-presidency is expected to become the focal point for those hoping to succeed her as head of state.

Shifeta open to Swapo VP bid if called upon

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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Shifeta open to Swapo VP bid if called upon

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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