Source: New Era
The Deputy Prime Minister-designate Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah believes the 6th National Assembly will be dynamic, effective and constructive as the 43 women elected to the august House are more than ready to take up their positions in the legislature.
"I am sure all of us are ready to build on what we have gained in the development of future women leaders in Namibia, and to ensure our contribution to sustainable development,"
she assured the President-elect and Prime Minister Dr Hage Geingob at the closing of a weeklong seminar for newly elected women members of parliament on Friday. The induction course for the future female MPs was held at Gross Barmen Resort outside Okahandja.
Nandi-Ndaitwah the current foreign affairs minister informed Geingob that the elected women have strong backgrounds and possess different skills and experiences, which is a great opportunity for Geingob when he puts together his Cabinet.
She praised Geingob for entrusting the administration of the future government in the hands of women.
Geingob in his response urged the incumbents to push themselves to go beyond their self-limiting fears or doubts. "Your active participation in parliament will not only be an inspiration for aspiring female politicians and leaders, but will also provide an opportunity for you to steer discourse towards issues that matter to women."
Geingob expressed excitement about the prospect of more women in parliament.
"I can see endless talent in all of you. Go out there and fulfil the mandate bestowed upon you by God and the citizens of this country."
He said any institution that has balanced gender participation is an institution that will reap the benefits of informed and multi-faceted debate.
Geingob said it is a concerted view that balanced gender representation should go beyond parliament and must seep into public political discourse, where the voice of the woman is often silent whether it be in political journalism or analysis.
"Do not limit yourself by mimicking others. You must always be yourself. Let us make our parliament a source of pride and an exemplar of Namibian and African democracy, the new Africa," he inspired them.
Geingob said it does not make sense to place women in positions of authority just because they are women."What makes sense is to ensure inclusive decision-making by electing and equipping the most competent people around the table," referring to his latest announcement of appointing a competent prime minister in the likes of Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as deputy prime minister.
He said Namibia could be proud of the fact that it is one of the few countries in the world that has attained parliamentary gender representation in excess of 40 percent.
"In no other country's history have we had such a large representation of female MP's. This is a testament to Namibia's sustained efforts to promote gender equality and inclusivity," he said.
He said exclusion is bad for politics, it's bad for the economy and it's bad for society.
He said government has made excellent progress in this regard and has thus far exceeded the private sector in female representation. The public sector is a leading example for the private sector to follow suit as the latter has worryingly low levels of female participation in senior and executive management roles, he added.
"I would like to ask the private sector to take note of the public sector in this regard and shape up!" he said.