President reshuffles Cabinet – Vice President relieved of duties
His Excellency, President Hage Geingob on Thursday relieved, Nickey Iyambo from his duties as Vice President due to medical reasons and reshuffled his executive team with immediate effect.
The Cabinet reshuffle is as follows: Immanuel Ngatjizeko (Minister of Presidential Affairs), Frans Kapofi (Minister of Home Affairs and Immigration), Tom Alweendo (Minister of Mines and Energy), Alpheus !Naruseb (Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry), Albert Kawana (Attorney-General), Sackeus Shanghala (Minister of Justice), John Mutorwa (Minister of Works and Transport), Tjekero Tweya (Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development), Obeth Kandjoze (Director General of the National Planning Commission and Minister of Economic Planning), Stanley Simataa (Minister of Information and Communication Technology), Peya Mushelenga (Minister of Urban and Rural Development) and Erastus Utoni as Minister of Sport, Youth and National Service. Nangolo Mbumba is the new Vice President.
Upon congratulating the new appointments, Geingob said he expects a total and effective performance of duties from each of the newly appointed members.
“I am counting on everyone of us to step up the implementation of Government programmes. We cannot continue at the same pace and mindset and somehow expect a different outcome. We cannot continue to make promises and not reckon. This is the ‘Year of Reckoning’, during which we will account to the people. I will hold ministers accountable and they in turn are expected to hold their officials to account,” Geingob said.
Geingob told the ministers that the nation expects government to continue strengthening the country’s democratic character and to effectively maintain the complimentary values of dignity, freedom, justice and peace; including the pursuit of happiness provided for in the Constitution.
“It is against the aforementioned Constitutional context, that the first meeting of Cabinet of this year should remind us of the need to be true to the concept of ‘democratic government’ – of the people, by the people, for the people, in the most meaningful manner,” the President added.
Meanwhile, Geingob urged the government to work in harmony to deliver on its mandate.
“We must realize that it is only through effective service delivery that we will silence the critics. Hence the repeated call to hold hands and Harambee in the same direction,” he added.
