The official opposition has called on president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to explain the dismissal of former deputy prime minister and industries, mines and energy minister Natangwe Ithete, amid renewed debate over government transparency and anti-corruption efforts. …
Itula demands reasons for Ithete’s dismissalNamibia Minute.
Monday, 11 May 2026
Namibia’s news, on the hour · Est. 2026
Monday, 11 May 2026
Windhoek—:—London—:—New York—:—Beijing—:—
Person
Natangwe Ithete
Also known as: Ithete · minister Ithete · fired minister Ithete · former mines minister Ithete · deputy prime minister Ithete
Former deputy prime minister and industries/mines minister dismissed in October 2025, reportedly over Paragon Oil licence renewal approval.
In coverage
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
- April 2026
- March 2026
… Naruseb has been reassigned to the China Parliamentary Friendship Group, while former deputy prime minister Natangwe Ithete joins the standing committee on budget and finance, replacing Elifas Dingara who recently resigned from parliament. …
Swapo reshuffles MPs in the National Assembly… Paragon was recently linked to a deal with Katti’s Sintana Energy over Petroleum Exploration Licence 37 – the same licence connected to the dismissal of former mines and energy minister Natangwe Ithete. …
Paragon and Knowledge Katti express interest in buying 10.2% stake in Rössing UraniumFormer deputy prime minister Natangwe Ithete has reportedly not received his parliamentary salary for four months due to administrative delays following his dismissal from the Cabinet. …
Fired minister Natangwe Ithete goes four months without salary- February 2026
… He says the recent dismissal of former deputy prime minister and minister of industries, mines and energy Natangwe Ithete appears less incidental and more symptomatic of an intensifying struggle for influence within the state apparatus. …
Analysts warn Nandi-Ndaitwah power expansion and petroleum bill could centralise authority in Presidency… Photo: Mime Upon her appointment on 21 March 2025, Namibia’s first woman president in her re-organising of her new slimmed-down Cabinet, nominated noted resource nationalist Natangwe Ithete as her deputy prime minister and minister of the now-renamed Ministry of Industries, Mines …
Inside the battle for Orange Basin oil and gas… He said the president has taken direct control of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy after the dismissal of former minister Natangwe Ithete last October, before she appointed defence minister Frans Kapofi to act in that portfolio. …
President Nandi-Ndaitwah family oil interest allegations spark transparency row and State House media scuffle- January 2026
… The oil block resurfaced in the news last year as one of the reasons the president fired former industries, mines and energy minister Natangwe Ithete. …
President Nandi-Ndaitwah orders legal review of Paragon Oil’s controversial PEL 37 licence renewal… The Canadian company says it could eventually become a shareholder in Paragon Oil & Gas and its petroleum exploration licence 37, the same licence that was linked to the firing of former mines and energy minister Natangwe Ithete. …
Namibia oil licence update: Sintana energy signs LOI on Paragon’s PEL 37 amid controversy- December 2025
… Natangwe Ithete, then deputy prime minister and minister of industries, mines and energy, did not attend the second day of that forum. …
Inside Nandi-Ndaitwah’s presidency: Prayers, sacking ministers and the rise of a small power circle
Politics
Opposition demands transparency over dismissed minister
The News
IPC president Panduleni Itula called on President Nandi-Ndaitwah to publicly explain why former deputy prime minister and industries minister Natangwe Ithete was dismissed last year, citing concerns about government transparency and corruption despite the president's constitutional authority to dismiss officials without explanation.
14 April 2026 · The Namibian →
Tuesday 14 April
Opposition demands transparency over dismissed minister
IPC president Panduleni Itula called on President Nandi-Ndaitwah to publicly explain why former deputy prime minister and industries minister Natangwe Ithete was dismissed last year, citing concerns about government transparency and corruption despite the president's constitutional authority to dismiss officials without explanation.
14 April 2026 · The Namibian →
Wednesday 18 March
Swapo party reshuffles MPs across parliamentary committees
National Assembly speaker Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila announced a reshuffle of Swapo MPs across standing committees, parliamentary friendship groups and multilateral organisations, with several lawmakers removed from previous roles and reassigned with immediate effect.
18 March 2026 · The Namibian →
Tuesday 10 March
Paragon and Knowledge Katti bid for Rössing Uranium stake
Paragon Investment and businessman Knowledge Katti have separately expressed interest in acquiring a 10.2% equity stake in Rössing Uranium Limited currently held by South Africa's Industrial Development Corporation. Katti has called for the stake to be sold exclusively to a 100% Namibian entity, arguing that greater local private sector participation in strategic mineral assets is key to national economic sovereignty.
10 March 2026 · The Namibian →
Friday 6 March
Fired minister Ithete unpaid four months despite parliament seat
Former deputy prime minister Natangwe Ithete has not received his parliamentary salary for four months following his October dismissal from Cabinet, reportedly because the National Assembly has not received an official directive confirming his removal from the executive. Officials cite administrative delays, while a political commentator attributes the delay to institutional incompetence in reintegrating him into the parliamentary payroll system.
6 March 2026 · The Namibian →
Friday 20 February
Critics warn petroleum bill and regional changes centralise power to presidency
Political analysts and opposition figures say proposed legislative changes—transferring petroleum sector control to the presidency and restructuring regional councils to report through governors to the president—could concentrate executive authority and undermine democratic checks and balances. Defenders including a Swapo MP argue the measures are necessary to manage Namibia's emerging oil industry, but critics warn the pattern signals democratic backsliding and erosion of decentralisation.
20 February 2026 · The Namibian →
Thursday 12 February
Orange Basin oil industry plagued by legal gaps and power struggles
Namibia's emerging oil and gas sector faces a 30-year legal vacuum in gas-related legislation and internal corruption scandals at Namcor, even as offshore exploration has confirmed 21 billion barrels of crude and significant gas deposits. A power struggle between resource nationalists and business factions over control of the industry has intensified following President Nandi-Ndaitwah's appointment and her move to centralise upstream petroleum functions in the Office of the President.
12 February 2026 · The Namibian →
Wednesday 4 February
President's family oil interests spark transparency calls, journalist escorted out
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah faces mounting calls to disclose her family's alleged business interests in Namibia's oil and gas sector, after a journalist was removed from State House for pressing her on the matter. Political analysts, parliamentarians, and civil society groups are demanding transparency and parliamentary scrutiny, citing concerns about accountability and conflict of interest given the president's direct control over the industry.
4 February 2026 · The Namibian →
Monday 26 January
President orders legal review of Paragon Oil licence renewal
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has asked the attorney general to review the circumstances surrounding Paragon Oil & Gas' petroleum exploration licence (PEL 37) renewal, which was granted for four years despite regulations limiting third renewals to two years. The licence resurfaced as a controversy when former mines minister Natangwe Ithete was fired last year, allegedly for approving the renewal against the president's wishes.
26 January 2026 · The Namibian →
Friday 23 January
Sintana Energy signs deal for stake in controversial Namibian oil block
Businessman Knowledge Katti's Sintana Energy has paid a N$16.3 million deposit to secure negotiation rights over a stake in PEL 37, an oil exploration licence controlled by Paragon Oil & Gas. The licence has been controversial, linked to the firing of former mines minister Natangwe Ithete, and Sintana has until April 2026 to complete due diligence and negotiate terms to become a shareholder in Paragon.
23 January 2026 · The Namibian →