Namibia’s New President Names Deputy, Trims Cabinet
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah took office as Namibia’s first female president.
Photographer: Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images
Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah appointed long-serving lawmaker Lucia Witbooi as her deputy as she unveiled a streamlined cabinet, consolidating key ministries and placing oil and gas oversight under her own office.
Witbooi, 64, a former deputy minister, previously worked in education and home affairs before rising through the ranks of the ruling South West Africa People’s Organisation, or Swapo. She becomes the second woman to hold the vice presidency in the southern African country, which is on the verge of an oil boom but which faces significant economic challenges, including a 37% unemployment rate.