Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare has urged public and private sector employers to end favouritism and discrimination in recruitment, warning that appointments based on personal relationships, ethnicity or community ties undermine equal employment opportunities and institutional performance.
Speaking at the 16th Institute of People Management (IPM) Namibia Annual Conference, Ngurare said recruitment decisions should be based strictly on qualifications, competence and performance rather than personal connections or backgrounds.
“Do not appoint someone simply because they are your friend or come from your village. If another candidate is better qualified and performs well, give that person the opportunity, regardless of their race, language, ethnicity or background,” Ngurare said.
He raised concerns about recruitment practices in the public service, including allegations that some candidates were disadvantaged because of their backgrounds, and called on human resource practitioners to eliminate discriminatory practices.
Ngurare also warned against situations in which government departments or divisions become dominated by employees from particular communities, saying recruitment processes should promote fairness and reflect the country’s diversity.
“The public service and private sector must both reflect the diversity of Namibia,” he said.
He said building a professional and effective public service required integrity, accountability and transparent recruitment processes, while human resource practitioners had a responsibility to ensure that employees were recruited, developed, managed and retained on merit.
Ngurare further stressed that Namibia’s economic transformation and investment ambitions depended on developing a skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of emerging industries.
He called for stronger links between education, vocational training, entrepreneurship and employment to improve opportunities for young people and address skills shortages.
The Prime Minister also urged employers to create inclusive and productive working environments, warning that toxic workplace cultures could undermine employee well-being and organisational performance.
Turning to technology, Ngurare called for greater investment in locally developed artificial intelligence (AI) and digital solutions, saying Namibia should reduce its dependence on imported technologies and build systems that respond to domestic challenges.
“Artificial intelligence should not mean adopting everything developed in Silicon Valley and simply placing it in our communities. We must also be at the forefront of developing and programming solutions that address our own needs,” he said.
He said universities, students and local technology innovators had the potential to develop software that could improve government administration, reduce paperwork and make public services more accessible.
Ngurare cited the digitisation of government application processes as an example of how locally developed technology could reduce administrative costs and eliminate the need for citizens to travel long distances to submit documents.
He revealed that the public service had already begun work on digitisation and AI policies, stressing that technology adoption should strengthen national capacity, improve service delivery and safeguard national interests and security.
He urged human resource professionals to prepare employees for technological changes through training and skills development, ensuring that the introduction of digital systems translated into measurable improvements in productivity and service delivery.
“Technology should be used to address challenges such as unemployment rather than simply to communicate with one another,” he said.
