The Minister of Health and Social Services, Esperance Luvindao, has highlighted that the ministry cannot directly absorb unemployed Health Information Systems Management and Public Health graduates because no dedicated job categories or approved personnel administrative measures exist for these fields within the public service.

Luvindao was responding to Republican Party MP Mathias Mbundu, who asked how the ministry plans to integrate graduates who have been unemployed since 2019 into dedicated health data management, monitoring and evaluation roles instead of assigning these duties to nurses.

Dr. Luvindao said graduates may apply for advertised Health Programme Officer positions within the ministry's health information and research structures, provided they meet the requirements.

She emphasised that all appointments must follow a transparent, competitive, and merit-based recruitment process in line with the Constitution and Public Service Staff Rules.

Automatic placement of unemployed graduates is therefore not permitted under the current recruitment regulations.

“Please allow me to respond to this question by stating that although there are unemployed but qualified health information systems management as well as public health graduates available in the labor market, they cannot be automatically absorbed into existing vacant posts. Automatic placement would contravene the administrative framework governing recruitment in the Namibian public service in accordance with article 18 of the Namibian constitution as well as the public service staff rule B1. On recruitment, all vacancies must be advertised through open competition fairness and transparency for all eligible citizens. The recruitment process requires that each interested and qualified applicant must be afforded the opportunity to compete, and then suitable candidates will all be assessed, and then the final selection will be made based on merit.”