New Namibian Cabinet announced by president Nandi-Ndaitwah

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at the announcement of the new Cabinet, State House, Windhoek, 22 March 2025

I have the honour to welcome you all to this first engagement after being sworn in as the fifth president of the Republic of Namibia. As I indicated last year after the presidential elections, the people of Namibia gave me and the Swapo party an overwhelming mandate to govern our country for the next five years.

The Namibian citizens voted for us because they have demonstrated their confidence in the promises that we have made in our election manifesto, which is based on clear principles: Unity in diversity: Natural resources beneficiation and youth empowerment for sustainable development. 

In order to realise our goals, we have developed the implementation plan, which will be the blueprint of the new government. The implementation plan is a catalyst for economic growth and job creation through economic diversification while at the same time prioritising human capital investment through education and youth empowerment.

Therefore, as elected leaders, we have an immense responsibility to ensure that we consolidate democracy, peace, stability and good governance in the country, as well as to expedite the delivery of quality public services to all Namibians.

Moreover, our government is tasked with enhancing food security in the country, improving the health of our people, delivering affordable housing, quality education and creating job opportunities for thousands of unemployed Namibians. Equally, we have to implement targeted interventions in the priority sectors of agriculture, mining, tourism, sports, and creative industries, among others, to accelerate the socio-economic development of our country.

In accordance with Article 32 (3) (g) of the Namibian Constitution and guided by the election manifesto implementation plan, I have decided to establish, abolish and align various government offices, ministries and agencies to eradicate duplication, cut expenditure and ensure smooth and effective implementation of our development programmes. I have also merged some ministries and transferred some mandates to others where we can maximise outcomes:

The trade mandate has been transferred to the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation to ensure coordinated synergies in the implementation of our economic diplomacy while promoting regional and continental economic integration and enhancing opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Social grants will fall under the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises to improve the effective delivery of social grants to beneficiaries while removing bottlenecks in the distribution of these services across all 14 regions of our country.

Fisheries and marine resources have been transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform to improve the management and sustainable development of our fisheries and aquatic resources for the benefit of our national economy.

Higher education and innovation will be placed under the Ministry of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture to enhance effective coordination and improvement of our education system.

Industrialisation will migrate to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, which is responsible for the management of our country’s mineral resources, to ensure the effective implementation of our national industrialisation drive and economic diversification through value addition initiatives.

The marginalised and disability functions will be placed in the Office of the Vice President to improve national coordination.

Poverty eradication is a cross-cutting function. Therefore, all government offices, ministries and agencies will be required to put in place programmes aimed at eradicating poverty and accelerating socio-economic development.

Labour relations will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice to ensure effective coordination of labour relations as well as the implementation of labour legislation.

The government of the Republic of Namibia has valuable immovable properties and assets across all fourteen regions. A new public entity will be created to manage and oversee government immovable properties and assets.

The new emerging industries of oil and gas need to be managed in a manner that maximises benefits for all Namibians. Therefore, the management of these industries will fall under the Office of the President.

In view of these alignments and reorganisations, the executive will be constituted as follows:

The president

Vice president

Prime minister and deputy prime minister

Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs

Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security

Ministry of International Relations and Trade

Ministry of Finance and Social Grants Management

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform

Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture

Ministry of Health and Social Services

Ministry of Industrialisation, Mines and Energy

Ministry of Environment and Tourism

Ministry of Information and Communication Technology

Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare

Ministry of Works and Transport

Ministry of Urban and Rural Development

Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations

Attorney general

National Planning Commission

Namibia Central Intelligence Service

I thank you.