GOVERNMENT and the ruling Swapo party have been unable to explain how ministers and their deputies are vetted before being entrusted with the responsibility and power to govern.
The Cabinet, as the highest decision-making body for the government, holds an extraordinary fiduciary responsibility as the country’s executive. It is tasked with lifting Namibians out of poverty, crafting governance policies and driving the country’s development agenda. It is for that reason that the integrity of Cabinet members is important.
Health minister Esperance Luvindao was appointed by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Saturday as one of the eight non-voting members of the National Assembly. She was later that day sworn in as arguably the youngest person to have served as health minister.
Luvindao now finds herself exposed, while both Swapo and the government refuse to vouch for her. It is as if she identified, nominated, vetted and appointed herself.
Luvindao did not respond to questions sent by The Issue at the time of publishing.
However, her yearslong quest for online fame thrust her into the headlines soon after taking the oath of office.
Luvindao is a Forbes 30 Under 30 2022 recipient. Her other awards include being named as one of the Top 50 Namibian Philanthropists and one of the Top 50 African Trailblazers. In 2023, she was named the Global South Arts and Health Envoy.
Global South Arts and Health seeks to recognise emerging professionals, leading experts, community leaders, practitioners, innovators, advocates, activists and healthcare professionals “who are contributing to the growing evidence of the healing power of arts in Africa, Asia, and Latin America”.
Concerns over her humanitarian acts first emerged after she allegedly failed to provide proof of the digitalised health care services to various rural areas.
In February 2022, The Namibian reported that she was honoured by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth with a Commonwealth Points of Light award for delivering free online consultations to 44 000 patients from Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda since 2019.
Luvindao only officially became a registered medical practitioner in August 2021.
Her social media posts also state that she started the One Step at a Time initiative. The initiative purportedly helped more than 35 000 Namibians by purchasing crucial medication and medical equipment for village health practices and has played a key role in supporting the country’s vaccine campaign in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Her digital consultations were meant to somehow fill the gaps left by the health care system.
Doubts would later emerge on the veracity of this programme and its effectiveness only after she was awarded for her endeavours. The legitimacy of various awards she has received would be called into question considering their relative obscurity.
Luvindao has also in the past tried to get the media to erase some of the articles they’ve published on her.
Less than a day after her appointment, news started making the rounds that Nandi-Ndaitwah had developed a case of buyer’s remorse.
The president is allegedly contemplating reversing Luvindao’s appointment.
Sources close to the presidency told The Issue that Nandi-Ndaitwah was unhappy with certain revelations, which allegedly came to light about Luvindao after the appointment.
Luvindao is allegedly accused of misrepresenting facts around her heritage. That she allegedly said she had Namibian heritage when it was not the fact. She also allegedly faces other accusations putting her integrity into question.
People close to the presidency said that the Nandi-Ndaitwah was furious and claimed she was misled into appointing Luvindao, who is a social media sensation.
Questions about how Luvindao found herself being sworn in as a Cabinet minister have remained unanswered.
Both the government and the ruling party could not explain the processes followed to verify and ensure that potential executive appointees are scrutinised to ascertain they are people of unquestionable integrity.
“I don’t want to be part and parcel of your story; I advise you to consult with the State House,” said Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa, who refused to answer detailed questions.
However, impeccable sources told The Issue that Swapo did conduct a vetting exercise on Luvindao. The process was allegedly conducted by the party’s security department, falling under the party’s secretary of defence and works minister, Veikko Nekundi. A party source said their digging into Luvindao’s character dates as far back as last month.
Nekundi did not respond to detailed questions sent to him.
Secretary to Cabinet George Simataa also sidestepped questions around how it was possible that Luvindao was appointed without due diligence being done on her.
“I am not in the position to answer any of your questions. All I can tell you is that vetting in our country is done by NCIS [the Namibia Central Intelligence Services],” he said.
NCIS currently operates without a director general and never answers media enquiries.
Fransina Kahungu, secretary of the Swapo Party Women’s Council, was willing to stick her head above the parapet, saying she does not believe “a person going to work at that level is not checked”.
She also reminded party members who are up in arms about campaigning using their own time and resources, only to be overlooked for someone from obscurity.
“Comrades, we are many and positions are few,” said the veteran Windhoek city councillor, who also advised the president to act swiftly.
“If there is a genuine concern, we should not overlook it and rather correct a mistake while it is early. Treat the wound while it’s still fresh,” she said.
The Luvindao saga, coupled with Swapo and the government’s failure to explain the checks and balances involved in the process of ensuring ministerial appointments have passed the ‘fit and proper’ test, puts the integrity of Nandi-Ndaitwah’s Cabinet in question, as several members of the new Cabinet have been under the spotlight for questionable dealings in previous roles.
Complaints of businesspeople, especially those who donate to Swapo, having a hand in the appointment of specific ministers and State functionaries to forward their business interests have been rife lately.
Even former first lady Monica Geingos joined the fray and issued a statement distancing herself from what she called allegations claiming that she had a hand in Luvindao’s appointment for personal gain.
“I need to reaffirm that I have no existing or past financial interests in the procurement processes of any State institution,” read Geingos’ statement.
The Issue has also learnt that behind the controversy around Luvindao’s appointment is a fight between factions of businesspeople aligned to Swapo. The politically connected businesspeople who specialise in government tenders are believed to be eyeing the ministry of health’s mega medical supply contracts as well as an envisaged project to construct a number of regional hospitals around the country.
Two weeks ago, The Issue reported on businessman and Swapo functionary Josef Andreas and his alleged sway over the party and government affairs. His comrades in the ruling party have both questioned his motives and raised fears over ‘state capture’.
Those in the know also claimed that he would have had a hand in how incoming President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will structure her Cabinet.
After her announcement, whispers of some of her picks for Cabinet being proxies for politically connected businesspeople have also become louder.
