Theresa Samaria

Opening the gateway to the west – Namibia’s Theresa Samaria

When Theresa Samaria was growing up in apartheid Namibia, she dreamed of becoming a housewife, having children and a beautiful home. “Even if I had wanted to be the women I read about in books, I knew I couldn’t, because I grew up in a system of segregated schools, no universities for Blacks and my family had limited financial resources. Being a housewife and having a family was the most achievable dream for me,” Samaria said.

Samaria achieved her first dream and much more. She says she was “forced to become an activist”, because of the apartheid system. In 1994, she was among the first black councillors to take up their posts in her hometown Walvis Bay. In 1999, she became the first Black and woman mayor.

In the focus group with civil society groups in Namibia, many spoke disparagingly about women councillors who take up posts and fail to implement feminist agendas. They gave examples of women mayors who nominate men to important posts. But almost all of them cited Samaria as a model of a woman who got into a senior post and did not forget the gender struggle: “She was dynamic. She fought the fight that has made changes. She is an example of a strong woman, a woman with vision, strong enough to pull the pillars down.”

“The Mayor of Walvis Bay (now a leading regional port and gateway to the west) is an example of the potential impact of women in local government,” added the director of the Association of Local Government authorities Lister Chaka.

Samaria is now Namibia’s ambassador to Botswana, where the researchers pinned her down for an interview. She is the first person in Namibia to have been appointed as an ambassador from local government.

The high commissioner recalls that she did not set out to be mayor, but from the time she became a councilor and chairperson of the Management Committee, the operational arm of the Council, she applied the principle that has guided her throughout her life: “to apply myself and do the best I can not for myself or for personal attainment, but for the people whose interests I am put there to serve”.

Buoyed by a strong faith, a belief that women are equal to men and an ethic that one must work hard to achieve, Samaria says the policy environment in Namibia and the ruling party’s commitment to women at the highest levels made it possible for her to make a difference.

“Article 10 on the Constitution which prohibits discrimination on the basis of one’s sex, race or creed and the important affirmative action clause in the 1992 Local Authorities Act, opened the doors for women to enter local government… Swapo (the ruling party) also developed a Zebra List to get more women into governance structures and the commitment to more women in office was pushed from the top by the President and the then Minister of Local Government, who were men,” she continued.

“Most positions in the local authorities were occupied by strong, healthy men who were not ready to leave. The legal framework made it possible to get women like me in. To get someone in, someone must go out and in a young democracy, it was difficult just to push someone out for the sake of it,” said Samaria who was a sales representative for an insurance company before entering local government.

Under South African occupation, all transport routes in Namibia led to South Africa, effectively cutting the port off from its other neighbours. Walvis Bay was only handed over to the Namibian government four years after independence in 1990 following the first democratic elections in South Africa.

The port- a natural gateway to the west coast for Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa- has since been making up for lost time. Walvis Bay is keenly aware of its key strategic advantage: most external trade by African countries is conducted with countries across the Atlantic (like Europe and the US) rather than across the Indian Ocean. Namibia’s dream is to turn this once parochial port into a hub for Southern Africa.

The Trans Kalahari Highway, completed in 1998, links Namibia with Botswana, and through Botswana to South Africa’s industrial heartland province of Gauteng. In the north, the Trans Caprivi Highway provides an all weather road link between the Atlantic coast and Namibia’s eastern neighbours, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as northern Botswana.

Transport officials say that these countries can save up to five days on cargo destined for western markets as compared to using South African or Mozambican ports on the east coast (even where these are closer). Frequent congestion at these ports means the time saving is probably higher. Walvis Bay has a strict rule, so far adhered to, that no cargo stays at the port for more than three days.

The port works closely with the Walvis Bay Export Processing Zone, an initiative driven by Samaria when she was mayor and 30 local companies to provide a supporting framework for the EPZ.

“I believe that if you can read, write and make a point and people trust you, you can be successful in governance,” Samaria said. “When one goes through the school of life you pick up experiences and common sense. Qualifications don’t always equal good performance.”

However, she adds: “I am aware that women in any public positions are scrutinized more by the people and their colleagues than men. Men can have a laid-back attitude, while women have to work twice, if not thrice as hard, to prove themselves. It’s very unfair. I was under scrutiny as a councilor and when I became mayor, because I am a woman.”

As the first Black mayor, she inherited a white, male Chief Executive Officer who had “never seen a Black township” and who did not have the same ideas and working methods as she. “I believe in a consultative government because I’ve been in a system where I was told for too long what was good for me. I decided on an approach to consult and analyse the needs of the people.

“I didn’t get rid of him. I laid out my expectations of the job, what we wanted to achieve as councillors and asked him what he needed in the way of training to do his job. After a year, we couldn’t achieve what I wanted and I realized that without a Chief Executive Officer who was in sync with my idea and the council’s of serving the interests of the people, I would be taking decisions that would not be implemented and I would not make a difference.”

She discussed her dilemma with the Minister and made her problem clear to the Chief Executive officer who resigned. She says her next Chief Executive Officer, a black male who had served as deputy to the previous officer, was “worth gold”. “I always say that the achievements I made during my time as mayor in Walvis Bay were due to this Chief Executive Officer and the team. I believe in giving credit where it is due, and I achieved because of the support of my officials and because of my support system at home.”

Samaria said that while she believes that respect is earned and does not automatically come with a position, she found differences between the white and black cultures in her region. “In white culture they respect the position while you hold it, but the minute you are out, they no longer respect you. With blacks, I found that if you are senior to your colleagues by age and if you are respectable and give respect to others, then you will receive respect.”

“I played it by the rules and made no exceptions. I didn’t expect anything as a woman. I worked hard to know my Act (the law governing the work of the local authorities) and what to do. I forgot my sex and remembered the purpose I was put there for as mayor,” Samaria said.

At the same time, as a woman in leadership, she felt an acute responsibility to other women.

“I believe that women in leadership must speak on and advocate for gender equality. If I am where I am because of the support of women, then I must be a mouthpiece for those who cannot speak. I must be a role model to young women and I must encourage other women. We must support and acknowledge each other.”

She said that women have been at the forefront of pushing for new laws and for changing those which discriminate against women citing as examples the 1996 Marriage Persons Equality Act; the 1992 Local Authorities Act; the Combatting Violence and Rape Act (2000), among others.

Most of her policies for senior citizens, children living with disabilities, for example, benefited women who were the majority of the senior citizens and the ones taking care of the children, although Samaria said she did not have one sex or the other in mind when she took policy decisions.

It would often be a phone call from a woman whom she did not know, urging her not to give up, that gave her the strength to carry on when she faced many baptisms by fire for some of her decisions, Samaria said. “Yes, there is the ‘pull-her-down syndrome’ among women, but there are those who give you a call of encouragement and support.”

Women in leadership, she said, must quickly learn that being effective is not about pleasing everyone. “A leader cannot only take popular decisions. Sometimes you have to take unpopular decisions for the interests of all. There are 55,000 residents in Walvis Bay and when I would look out of my window and see 1000 people standing outside protesting against me, I would try and not loose sight of the bigger picture by remembering that more than 49,000 people were not among the demonstrators.”

Samaria recalled a decision she made to upgrade and improve the informal settlements of the people in Walvis Bay who were renting from landlords. The settlements had no electricity, toilets or other basic services, and the council began to put these services in place by giving tenders for building facilities to Blacks in the area, and in the process began to bring down the cost dwellers were paying to the landlords for renting the space for their dwellings.

“The landlords began to instigate violent protests against the whole exercise. I was accused of taking Council money, of owning one of the businesses a tender was given to, and the Defence Force even had to be called in to protect me. I was almost killed at one meeting that turned violent.

“Because of the bad media coverage of me, the Minister of Local Government and even the President became concerned and travelled to Walvis Bay to find out what was going on. My family wanted me to consider quitting because my life was threatened. I went through three months of hell, but I decided that the violence, the demonstrations against me as mayor (she said the demonstrations were not targeted at the Council only at her), and the slander were instigated to force me out of office. I wasn’t going to be forced out and continued with the consultations and work to improve the informal settlements.”

Her perseverance paid off. The rehabilitation of the informal settlements in Walvis Bay won an award at the UN Habitat best practices conference in Dubai. The Council received 300,000 Namibian dollars as part of the award. The scheme is acknowledged nationally and internationally as a showcase of how not to resettle people without basic services in place.

Another lesson Samaria said she has learned as a woman in leadership is to “be myself” and not compare herself to others. “My predecessor was a businessman, an eloquent speaker. I built on what he had started, but I did not compare myself to him. I did not try to be him. I had to be myself. I regard myself as equal to anyone. I work equally well with men and with women. I don’t want to be someone else,” she said.

“I consult, but I am able to take a decision and to stand-up for what I believe in. But when I take a decision, I sometimes want it done yesterday, because I believe why should you postpone until tomorrow when you can do something and complete it today. This makes me impulsive at times, but I am always credible towards others, and when I say I will do something, I don’t like backtracking.”

When asked why she decided to enter governance at the local level, rather than aim for a higher office, Samaria said: “I don’t like to say I want this or that position,” adding that she entered in line with the party structures and politics. “I believe that my life plans are in the hands of God. Whatever happens, I give it over to God for guidance.

“Whatever I do, I believe that I am serving my country and that everyone at all levels has a role to play. You have to be proud and satisfied with what you are doing, and you must do your best. I am content with what I have done and with what I am doing now,” said Samaria who has been the recipient of awards from the Performance Management Review of Southern Africa for her work as mayor.

Her family – husband, four daughters, two adopted sons and two grandsons – have supported her every step of the way, Samaria said. “When I entered politics, I had to discuss it with my husband. My family was used to me working and I always take up a challenge when presented with one.

“My husband attended all the meetings with me during the campaign; my daughters have always been supportive and they were active in politics as students. You need family and friends when you are in office, because when you begin to doubt your abilities, they are the first ones to boost you,” she said.