Namibia’s newly sworn-in president took office on Friday, stepping into leadership at a time when the country is grappling with persistent unemployment, economic disparity, and widespread poverty.
In addition to these challenges, she faces the unique responsibility of being only the second woman in Africa to win a presidential election by direct vote, as well as Namibia’s first female head of state.
“If things go well, then it will be seen as a good example,” Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told BBC’s Africa Daily podcast.
“But if anything happens, like it can in any administration under men, there are also those who would rather say: ‘Look at women!'”
At 72, she secured victory in the November elections with a 58% majority.
A steadfast member of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo), Nandi-Ndaitwah has been aligned with the ruling party since Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990, following years of resistance against apartheid rule.
Her involvement in Swapo dates back to the age of 14, when the party was still a liberation movement fighting against white-minority governance under South Africa.
Although Swapo has brought social and economic reforms benefiting the black majority, the nation still struggles with deep-rooted inequalities stemming from its colonial past.
“Truly, land is a serious problem in this country,” she told the BBC ahead of her inauguration.
“We still have some white citizens, and more particularly, absent landowners who are occupying the land.”
She emphasised her commitment to the “willing-buyer, willing-seller” approach, ensuring that landowners are not forced to sell.
Namibia, despite its vast land area, has a relatively small population of around three million people.
Government data indicates that white farmers control roughly 70% of the nation’s agricultural land, while the latest census in 2023 recorded just 53,773 white Namibians, accounting for 1.8% of the total population.
The country ranks among the most unequal in the world, with a Gini coefficient of 59.1 in 2015, as reported by the World Bank, which projects that poverty levels will remain high at 17.2% in 2024.
Joblessness is another pressing concern, with the unemployment rate climbing to 36.9% in 2023, up from 33.4% in 2018, according to national statistics.
Nandi-Ndaitwah believes the economy, which relies heavily on mineral exports, must shift towards refining raw materials domestically instead of exporting them in unprocessed form.
She also envisions a stronger focus on creative industries and wants the education system to evolve in response to emerging economic demands.
Nandi-Ndaitwah’s election makes her only the second woman in Africa to secure a presidency through a direct vote, following Liberia’s Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Currently, the only other female president on the continent is Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan, who assumed office after her predecessor’s passing in 2021.
While she hopes to be judged based on her leadership abilities, she acknowledged that her election signals progress. “It is a good thing that we, as countries, are realising that just as men [can do], women can also hold positions of authority.”
