Leaving office: Dausab’s thoughts on equality, legacy

Former justice minister Yvonne Dausab says she would have loved to leave office with the ‘Namibian House’ being an equal society where everyone is appreciated for who they are.

She says part of this was to push for the ombudsman bill which sought to improve the independence of the office and gaurantee equality in the country.

The bill also aims to strengthen the ombudsman’s mandate to ensure its independence in dealing with human rights protection and promotion, investigating maladministration in public institutions, and overseeing environmental protection.

“Although there was no evidence of executive interference in the ombudsman’s work, we wanted to reinforce its independence – just as we had done with the judiciary. International best practices also emphasise that such offices should not fall under a government ministry but operate independently,” she says.

She says there was pressure – both internal and external – to remove the ombudsman’s office from the then Ministry of Justice.

“Some calls were made for further consultations on terminology and other aspects of the bill. After discussions with the ombudsman, we decided that waiting for the next administration to take it forward would not do any harm,” she says.

Dausab says she feels she has led an honest life and accomplished her primary goals in government.

“I think a lot of what we become is the small steps that we take, decisions that we make, and choices we make right at the beginning. . . If my value system and character trait is that I want to live a generally honest life with integrity and, to the best of my ability, do small things over a period of time consistently – then those things would bring me certain types of results,” she says.

Dausab says her career has been rewarding and allowed her to accomplish different achievements.

“But I think also, coming to the end of my term – and I’m not in retirement, I’m in transition, as I consider myself – you also spend time reflecting. I realised, I got on a plane when I was 16, a child from Katutura. I worked in Zambia without knowing anybody there, getting onto a plane in 2001, flying to Lusaka, and starting a job there for three years. It’s not insurmountable.

“I think our president has taken decisions that, in that moment, she believes are the right decisions for her administration, and I respect that. I also respect the fact that I’ve always had a very warm relationship with the president, and that has not changed just because I’m no longer a minister in her Cabinet,” she says. Read the full interview on page 6