Geordin Hill-Lewis faces challenge of broadening DA's appeal beyond its traditional base
via The Namibian7 min read
Geordin Hill-Lewis, the new leader of South Africa’s second-largest party, the Democratic Alliance DA, faces the challenge of expanding the party's popularity beyond its core support, which is largely composed of white people and other racial minorities. Despite the end of apartheid, South Africa remains divided along racial lines. Hill-Lewis, who took over from John Steenhuisen, must find a way to appeal to the country’s black majority, who constitute about 80% of the population. The DA's share of the vote has remained around 20% since the 2014 general election, only slightly increasing to just under 22% in the 2024 election, which saw the African National Congress ANC drop below 50% and form a coalition government including the DA. Hill-Lewis, 39, acknowledged the need to "close the trust deficit" and stated that winning the trust of more black people would be a "main focus." He noted that the "racial silos in South Africa have been firm and concrete but they are breaking and cracking." The party's previous attempt to attract more black voters saw its first black leader, Mmusi Maimane, resign in 2019. However, the new leadership team, elected alongside Hill-Lewis, includes several black politicians such as Solly Msimanga, Siviwe Gwarube, and Solly Malatsi, making it the "most diverse and young group of leaders the DA has had in its history." While the new leadership is more racially mixed, gender imbalance persists with only one woman in a senior position. Hill-Lewis has no
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Namibian.
Capricorn Group, which owns Bank Windhoek and Capricorn Asset Management, has demonstrated strong performance on the Namibia Securities Exchange NSX over the past year, with its share price increasing by 32.45%. This growth has significantly benefited shareholders. The company is scheduled to release its results on September 25. The NSX Overall Index saw a 1.06% increase, while the NSX Local Index, tracking local companies, rose by 0.06%. Other companies also experienced positive movements, with Nictus Holdings up 17.24%, Namibia Breweries gaining 11.25%, and Mobile Telecommunications Limited increasing by 10.06%. However, some companies, including Letshego Namibia, Alpha Namibia Industries, and Stimulus Investments, recorded declines. Standard Bank Namibia Holdings saw a smaller gain of 0.37% on the latest trading day and is expected to release its interim financial results on August 12. Beyond the main exchange, Agra and Gondwana also showed positive movements, gaining 13.77% and 12.36% respectively. Globally, South Africa's JSE All Share Index increased by 0.79%, and major US markets like the Dow Jones and S&P 500 ended higher, though Japan's Nikkei Index declined by almost 2%. In Namibia, the annual inflation rate was 4.4% in June 2026, with the repo rate at 6.75% and the prime lending rate at 10.25%. Economic growth was 2% in the first quarter of 2026. Brent crude oil increased by 4.60%, reaching about N$1,303.17 US$79.51 per barrel, and the Namibia dollar weakened sligh
Namibia generated 58.3% of its electricity requirements in May, with domestic power stations providing more electricity than imports, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency NSA. Local power stations produced 290,390MWh, while imports accounted for 207,496MWh, or 41.7% of the total supply. Overall electricity supplied to the domestic economy increased to 497,886MWh in May. The Electricity Sources Composite Index rose 3.3% month-on-month and was 14.7% higher than a year earlier. The Ruacana Hydro Power Station was the dominant domestic source, generating 253,985MWh, which is 87.5% of total local production. Independent power producers contributed 31,625MWh 10.9%, and the Omburu PV Solar Power Station supplied 4,680MWh 1.6%. Despite increased domestic production, electricity imports also rose by 1.8% from April and 34.2% year-on-year. Zambia's Zesco remained the largest external supplier, providing 43.0% of imports, followed by South Africa's Eskom Aggeneis at 31.3%, and the Zimbabwe Power Company at 19.3%. Electricity demand also strengthened, with the Electricity Sales Composite Index increasing by 1.7% month-on-month and 17.0% year-on-year. Local authority electricity distributors were the largest consumers of domestically generated electricity, accounting for 67.4% of sales, with the mining sector consuming 24.5%.
Landless People’s Movement member of parliament Eneas Emvula has proposed a significant restructuring of the National Assembly to tackle legislative backlogs and delays in critical bills. His proposal, submitted recently, suggests reorganizing weekly sittings to prioritize questions to the executive, committee reports, bills, and motions. Emvula also advocates for increased use of digital systems, including electronic submission for questions and motions, a live digital order paper, and expanded electronic voting to boost efficiency. He stated that these changes would expedite parliamentary business, reduce the growing backlog, strengthen oversight, and improve the legislature’s effectiveness. Emvula believes the delays are not solely procedural, suggesting potential political motivations within the ruling party. His proposals include dedicating Tuesdays to questions and motions, Wednesdays to ministerial statements, committee reports, bills, and motivated motions, and Thursdays to executive responses. He also suggests a temporary moratorium on new motions, with exceptions for urgent matters, to help clear the existing backlog.