Opposition, experts raise concern over jobs for comrades and hiring bias in Namibia

Opposition leaders have blasted what they term “jobs for comrades” from those associated with certain political parties. They say the practice undermines fair and merit-based employment.

Popular Democratic Movement secretary general Manuel Ngaringombe says there is growing concern around both tribalism and politically influenced hiring.

“I want to add that there is also a concern of jobs for comrades,” he adds.

This comes after works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi said he had closed an investigation into alleged tribal bias in recruitments at the Roads Authority (RA), where six senior positions were allegedly held by employees from the Zambezi region.

Nekundi said he was misled by staff members.

The investigations at the RA reignited the issue of hiring practices across state-owned enterprises and government offices, which labour expert Herbert Jauch says has been a long-existing concern in Namibia.

Ngaringombe says the issue dates back to the years after independence, where “if you are a member of the governing party, Swapo, you are getting a job over others just because you are a Swapo card-carrying member”.

“Sometimes you will get a job over a qualified person just because of political affiliation,” he adds.

He says the issue has evolved into what he describes as regionalism, where employment opportunities are concentrated along regional and ethnic borders.

Ngaringombe says such practices “compromise the issue of nationalism” and affect service delivery, as well as youth employment.

“If we really want people to deliver, then we should not employ people because they belong to a certain region or ethnic group. They should be employed because they have the necessary qualifications,” he says.

Swapo politician Uahekua Herunga says if 100% of people working in government and in leadership positions at state-owned enterprises were Swapo members, he would agree that Namibians get jobs because they are Swapo card-carrying members.

“If 100% of people in the whole country [that are] unemployed are all from the opposition, then I would have agreed with the statement that only ‘Swapo card-carrying members’ get jobs in Namibia,” he says. “If the situation is otherwise, then you have the answer.”

‘ANONYMOUS RECRUITMENT SYSTEM’

Independent Patriots for Change leader Panduleni Itula says nepotism in recruitment within government and state-owned enterprises “is alleged to have been in existence since independence”.

He says there are no independent studies establishing the extent of the problem, and that recruitment not based on merit disadvantages development.

“Those recruited on the basis of ‘the know who’ and not on the basis of ‘the know how’ very often do not possess the required skills and knowledge,” Itula says.

He proposes that the government and state-owned enterprises introduce an anonymous recruitment system based on allocation of symbols to applicants to mask their identity from the recruitment panel. Meanwhile, Jauch says tribalism has existed across various spectrums of recruitments.

He says there have been longstanding claims that appointments often follow regional or personal networks, noting that “family pressures, networks of friends and family play a role in decisions,” which contradicts merit-based hiring.

He says while Namibia’s affirmative action framework allows preference for designated groups, appointments should still be based on qualifications.

“It’s very easy to quickly shout there’s tribalism at play, but one needs to investigate who applied, who was shortlisted, what were the criteria and on what basis a person was employed,” Jauch says.

Political scientist Rui Tyitende says Namibia, like many post-colonial African states, has not escaped the “unfortunate and dangerous politics of tribalism”.

He says the government remains “the chief architect and promoter of identity politics,” particularly in the appointments of regional leaders.

“The primary consideration is regionalism and not competence,” Tyitende says.

He questions why appointments are often tied to ethnic or regional identity.

“For example, why can a Nigel Witbooi not be appointed as governor of the Ohangwena region and a Naftali Kashihakumwa as governor of the Hardap region if they are both qualified?” he asks.

He says if political parties continue to mobilise support along ethnic lines, it undermines national unity.

“How can we expect ‘unity in diversity’ or the mantra of ‘One Namibia, One Nation’ to be a reality?” he asks.

Tyitende says failure to address these dynamics could entrench divisions.

“Namibia will remain a state with different nations competing for power and resources for as long as we fail to answer the question of what makes us Namibian,” he says.

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