PAUL T. SHIPALE (with inputs by Folito Nghitongovali Diawara Gaspar)
INTRODUCTION
Regional stability in Southern Africa has emerged as a multifaceted concern engaging stakeholders across political, economic, and social spectrums. While conventional security paradigms often dominate discourse on regional stability, progressive African leadership has increasingly reoriented focus toward people-centered development, peacebuilding, and regional integration. This paradigm shift is exemplified by the diplomatic initiatives of Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, whose recent engagements with neighboring Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Tanzania represent more than ceremonial diplomacy—they constitute a deliberate strategy of transformative regionalism and underscore how diplomacy functions simultaneously as negotiation and as collective memory-making.
In this regard, this reflection posits and examines the strategic significance of these diplomatic initiatives through three interconnected analytical frameworks: historical consciousness in diplomatic practice, infrastructure-led regional integration, and energy sovereignty as a catalyst for collective development. The central thesis postulates that Namibia’s diplomatic approach under President Nandi-Ndaitwah represents an emerging model of transformative regionalism—one that bridges historical solidarity with contemporary developmental imperatives while centering the lived experiences of citizens across national boundaries.
HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN DIPLOMATIC PRACTICE
The contemporary diplomatic relations between Namibia and its neighbours, particularly the landlocked sister countries such as Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, including Tanzania, cannot be fully comprehended without situating them within the historical context of Southern Africa’s Liberation Struggles. People such as Julius Nyerere and Kenneth Kaunda, the Founding Fathers of Tanzania and Zambia, played a pivotal role in supporting the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) during Namibia’s liberation struggle against apartheid South Africa’s occupation. This support was not merely rhetorical but manifested in concrete ways such as the hosting of SWAPO’s Headquarters and the establishment of the United Nations Institute for Namibia in Lusaka as well as providing training centres at Kongwa and other places.
Thus, the commemorative dimension of President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s visit to the FORMER FRONTLINE STATES, including officiating at the renaming of roads in honour of Namibian leaders, represents a deliberate practice of historical consciousness in diplomacy. These countries gesture continue to exemplify what might be termed as “historical gratitude” and this practice of commemoration serves multiple diplomatic functions: it reinforces historical bonds, legitimizes contemporary cooperation initiatives, and transmits shared historical narratives to younger generations who did not directly experience the liberation struggles.
TRANSFORMATIVE REGIONALISM: INFRASTRUCTURE-LED REGIONAL INTEGRATION
Beyond historical commemoration, President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s diplomatic initiatives reflect a sophisticated understanding of how infrastructure development can serve as a catalyst for regional integration. Namibia’s strategic location and port infrastructure position it as a potential gateway to the Atlantic for landlocked countries such as Zambia and Botswana. The revitalization and expansion of the Trans-Caprivi (Walvis Bay–Ndola–Lubumbashi) and Trans-Kalahari (Walvis Bay–Windhoek–Gaborone–Johannesburg) corridors represent more than mere trade routes—they constitute what can be conceptualized as pathways for inclusive economic development.
The development of dry ports, such as the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) facility in Zambia and anticipated developments in Botswana, exemplifies a model of infrastructure-led integration that directly addresses the structural challenges faced by landlocked countries. These facilities serve multiple functions: reducing trade costs, enhancing customs efficiency, and bringing the benefits of regional integration directly to communities that might otherwise be marginalized in conventional trade arrangements.
The proposed extension of railway lines between Namibia and its inland neighbors further illustrates this infrastructure-led approach to regional integration. Railway development has the potential to catalyze industrialization, enhance agricultural exports, and facilitate cross-border trade in both formal and informal sectors. Critically, this approach to infrastructure development is conceptualized not merely in terms of physical connectivity but as a means of fostering people-centered development—where borders are not barriers but bridges of mutual benefit.
ENERGY SOVEREIGNTY AS A CATALYST FOR COLLECTIVE DEVELOPMENT
A third dimension of President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s diplomatic initiatives concerns energy sovereignty through regional cooperation. The proposed refinery project, which Namibia is positioning as a regional energy solution, represents a significant departure from conventional approaches to resource development in Africa. By inviting investment and technical cooperation from Botswana and Zambia, this project conceptualizes energy security not as a zero-sum competition but as an opportunity for collaborative development.
For landlocked countries, co-ownership of access to refined petroleum products from a shared regional facility offers multiple advantages: lower costs through economies of scale, stabilized supply chains, and a collective hedge against global energy market volatility. This approach to energy development aligns with what scholars of African political economy have identified as a growing emphasis on resource sovereignty—where African states seek not merely to extract and export raw materials but to capture value through processing and refining (Obi, 2010).
The energy cooperation initiatives between Namibia and its neighbors build upon existing infrastructure projects, such as the 220 KV transmission line from Victoria Falls in Zambia to Katima Mulilo in Namibia, inaugurated in March 2008 (Nyirongo, 2008). These energy infrastructure projects create physical interconnections that necessitate ongoing diplomatic engagement and technical cooperation, thereby institutionalizing regional integration beyond rhetorical commitments.
What distinguishes Namibia’s approach to energy cooperation is its explicit framing in terms of solidarity rather than merely commercial interests. In this vision, Namibia is not merely exporting refined products—it is exporting solidarity. This conceptualization of energy development as a vehicle for regional solidarity represents a significant innovation in how resource development is framed in African diplomatic discourse.
TOWARDS A NEW MODEL OF AFRICAN REGIONALISM
President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s diplomatic initiatives can be interpreted as contributing to an emerging model of African regionalism that transcends conventional approaches. This model is characterized by several distinctive features: it bridges historical consciousness with contemporary developmental imperatives; it conceptualizes infrastructure development as a vehicle for inclusive growth rather than merely facilitating extraction; it approaches resource development through a lens of solidarity rather than merely commercial interests; and it prioritizes people-centered connections alongside state-to-state relations.
This approach aligns with what scholars of African regionalism have identified as a shift from “old regionalism,” characterized by state-centric approaches and formal institutional arrangements, to “new regionalism,” which encompasses a broader range of actors and informal processes (Söderbaum & Taylor, 2008). President Nandi-Ndaitwah’s diplomatic initiatives suggest a further evolution toward what might be termed “transformative regionalism”—an approach that explicitly links regional integration to structural transformation of economies and societies.
The significance of this approach extends beyond Southern Africa, offering potential insights for regional integration efforts across the African continent. As the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation progresses, the experience of subregional integration initiatives like those advanced by Namibia may offer valuable lessons in how to ensure that continental integration delivers benefits to citizens rather than remaining an elite project.
CONCLUSION
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s diplomatic initiatives in Botswana and Zambia represent more than routine state visits—they constitute a sophisticated approach to regional integration that merits scholarly attention. By simultaneously engaging with historical consciousness, infrastructure-led development, and energy sovereignty, these initiatives advance a model of transformative regionalism that has significant implications for both theory and practice of African regional integration.
As Namibia’s first female President charts this diplomatic course, her approach reaffirms the potential of what this reflection has termed “transformative regionalism”—a model that bridges past struggles with present needs and future aspirations. This is not diplomacy as usual, but diplomacy as development—an approach that recognizes the inseparability of diplomatic practice from developmental outcomes.
The significance of these diplomatic initiatives lies in how they challenge conventional understandings of regional integration as primarily state-centric and institutionally focused. Instead, they suggest a more nuanced approach that encompasses commemorative practices, infrastructure development, resource sovereignty, and people-to-people connections. This multidimensional approach offers valuable insights for scholars of African regionalism and practitioners of regional integration alike.
Africa’s future is interlinked and our success depends on how we treat each other as neighbors today. This observation captures the essence of transformative regionalism: recognition that sustainable development requires not merely economic integration but a fundamental reimagining of relationships between neighboring states and their citizens.
All in all, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s hundred days in office show positive signs of a transformative leadership anchored in the core values of the founding fathers of Africa, particularly Baba wa Taifa, Kambarange Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, where she rightly earned her title of “Mama wa SWAPO”, and our late founding president and father of the Namibian Nation, H.E. Dr Sam Shafaiishuna Nujoma. We are highly impressed by yhe almost accurate precision with which she managed to put together her cabinet, her vision and her implementation plan in such a short period of time. Only time will tell if all these will yield positive fruits.
Nevertheless, we still want to alert her to the other side of her responsibilities as both the Head of State and the president of the SWAPO Party. She should not neglect the other responsibility on her shoulders which might later weight too heavier on her. We are also glad with most of her cabinet ministers, particularly Hon. Veikko Nekundi, James Sankwasa, Dr Luvindao, Emma Theofelus as well as some members of parliament such as Phillipus Katamelo, Ephraim Nekongo, Dino Ballotti, Fenny Tutjavi, Tobie Aupindi, Justina Jonas, Marius Sheya, and most particularly Willem Amutenya.
The above members hit the ground running, and I am convinced will not let our first female president down as she leads our country to greater heights. I wish the president to continue on this transformative path as I am sure she will, given her almost accurate and surgical appointments, including her introduction of potential appointees, or so we thought, of Former Deputy Minister Shilunga to Luanda, Angola, Former Deputy Minister Hilma Nicanor to Harare, Zimbabwe including my most preferred well-trained diplomat by my mentor the late Dr Theo-Ben Gurirab, Namibia’s Ambassador to the United Nations Neville Gertze.
I consider the above ambassador to be among the top seasoned, not “seasonal”, best Namibian ambassadors, except maybe for my learned good friend Dr Alfredo Tjiurimo Hengari the acting presidential press secretary, whom I highly recommend to be appointed as ambassador, even to Senegal or France, and not to blow my own trumpets, probably me following him right on the heels as ambassador to Brazil, Cuba, or France. (Just kidding!) Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of our employers and this newspaper but solely our personal views as citizens and Pan-Africanists.
REFERENCES
Nyirongo, G. K. (2008). Namibia-Zambia Relations Irreversible. New Era. https://neweralive.na/namibia-zambia-relations-irreversible/
Obi, C. (2010). Oil as the ‘curse’ of conflict in Africa: Peering through the smoke and mirrors. Review of African Political Economy, 37(126), 483-495.
Saunders, C. (2023). Kaunda and the Liberation of Namibia: Towards an Assessment. Zambia Social Science Journal, 9(1), Article 5. https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/zssj/vol9/iss1/5
Söderbaum, F., & Taylor, I. (2008). Afro-regions: The dynamics of cross-border micro-regionalism in Africa. Nordic Africa Institute.
