Namibia’s Nandi-Ndaitwah set to become first female President – SABC News

Women are steadily breaking barriers and making strides into the highest offices across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and the African continent.

Namibia is poised to make history by inaugurating its first female president, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, on Friday.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) candidate and president-elect, emphasises the need for societal change, stating that many are in denial about the potential of women.

She says they were denying themselves the brain and the mind of one part of their society.

She also adds that they have a responsibility to create 500 000 jobs during her tenure.

Her inauguration will mark a significant milestone, as the SADC region will now have two female presidents.

President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, who assumed office in 2021, is the other trailblazer. This progress reflects a growing shift toward gender equality in leadership roles across Africa.

SABC News International editor Sophie Mokoena had an exclusive interview with the president-elect:

Namibian President-elect says she’s confident that her people in the country will support her to successfully run Namibia. She says women have leadership capabilities to lead like their male counterparts and should be given an opportunity.

“We know the culture which is still persisting that does not see a woman to play a prominent role in the public life. We should not really make a mistake when a woman is in a leadership position.”

She says her country will continue to support the call for reform of the UN Security Council because Namibia is also committed to global peace.

“As members of the United Nations, we continue to demand the reform of the Security Council because the Security Council is the body that was created specifically to maintain world peace. But because of the imbalance that is now there since it was formed at the initial formation of the organisation, there has been no reform done and that has made it to be irrelevant, in a way, to a certain extent.”

Nandi-Ndaitwah will be inaugurated on Friday in Namibia. -Additional reporting by Ditaba Tsotetsi