Nekundi appointed Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises

WINDHOEK, Feb. 12 – Former Swapo Party Youth League Secretary Veikko Nekundi was today appointed Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises by Namibia President Hage Geingob, following recent re-assignments to Cabinet portfolios last week.

Following the promotion of three long serving Deputy Ministers last week to full Ministerial portfolio, and the departure of three Deputy Ministers (Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry; Works and Transport and Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation), six (6) vacancies were created on the establishment.

List of Deputy Ministers
1. Office of the Prime Minister  Hon. Chief Samuel Ankama
2. Ministry of International Relations & Co-operation Hon. Christina //Hoebes
3. National Planning Commission and Ministry in the Presidency for Economic Planning Hon. Pieter van der Walt
4. Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration Hon. Maureen Hinda
5. Ministry of Industrialization, Trade & SME Development Hon. Lucia Ipumbu
6. Ministry of Public Enterprises Hon. Veikko Nekundi
7. Ministry of Information and Communication Technology Hon. Engel Nawatiseb
8. Ministry of Labour, Industrial Relations & Employment Creation Hon. Tommy Nambahu
9. Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Hon. Sylvia Makgone
10. Ministry of Environment & Tourism Hon. Bernadette Jagger

In making these appointments, President Geingob took into account the need to realign Deputy Ministers. Existing vacancies have been primarily filled with appointees from Ministries that were previously served by two Deputies. Five (5) Ministries of the total twenty-five (25), were served by two Deputy Ministers each. There is no longer any Ministry served by two (2) Deputy Ministers. Three (3) Deputy Ministers responsible for special recognition categories (Marginalized, Disability and Veteran Affairs) have been clustered under the Presidency, to leverage resources.

With regard to gender balance, seventeen (17) of the twenty-eight (28) Deputy Ministers are women. Finally, in line with Government’s leadership succession philosophy, two new appointments were made, namely, Hon. Veikko Nekundi and Hon. Bernadette Jagger. – NDN Staffer