Leon Jooste has resigned as Minister of Public Enterprises and Member of Parliament with effect from 31 March 2022 after handing in his resignation to President Hage Geingob on Wednesday.
Accepting his resignation, President Geingob lauded Joost’s contribution in setting up the Ministry of Public Enterprises and leading the Ministry with dedication.
The latest development comes after Cabinet last year approved the transformation of the Ministry of Public Enterprises into the Department of Public Enterprises under the Ministry of Finance.
The move was recommended by the High-Level Panel on the Namibian Economy and endorsed by Cabinet as one of the approved recommendations.
The Ministry of Public Enterprises was established in 2015 and among some of its reforms was the introduction of the Hybrid Governance Model and the Public Enterprises Governance Act, clearly separated the role of the State as policy formulator, regulator and operator by centralizing the ownership of the Commercial Public Enterprises under the Ministry of Public Enterprises while Non-Commercial Public Enterprises resorted under the various Line Ministries and Extra-Budgetary Funds under the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Public Enterprises currently oversees the functions and responsibilities of the 98 parastatals.
Jooste has previously served as Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government from 2004 to 2005 and Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism from 2005 to 2009.
He was later appointed by President Geingob as Minister of Public Enterprises on 21 March 2015 and reappointed to the same portfolio on 21 March 2020.
