Lydia Katjita (born 15 October 1953 in Omatjete,

Erongo Region Erongo is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. The capital is Swakopmund. It is named after Mount Erongo, a well-known landmark in Namibia and in this area. Erongo contains the municipalities of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Omaruru, as ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

) is a former member of the

National Assembly of Namibia The National Assembly is the lower chamber of Namibia's bicameral Parliament. Its laws must be approved by the National Council, the upper house. Since 2014, it has a total of 104 members. 96 members are directly elected through a system of cl ...

and the

Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...

Biography

Lydia Katjita was born 15 October 1953 in Omatjete in the

of central

. In 1989, she received a Higher Primary Education Certificate (HPEC) from the

University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, and the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the following fac ...

. She acquired a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

in 1996 and enrolled in the

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum an ...

al Management and Administration program at the University of Namibia the next year. From 1980 to the start of her national political career in 1999, Katjita was a teacher. During this time, she held multiple other positions, including head of department for Sciences, Mathematics, English, and Afrikaans at the Ministry of Education in

Grootfontein Grootfontein (, named after the nearby hot springs) is a city with 26,839 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. It is one of the three towns in the Otavi Triangle, situated on the B8 road (Namibia), B8 national road that lead ...

(1993–1999), member of the school board and management committee at Kalenga English Primary School (1993–1999), treasurer of the Evangelical

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church in Grootfontein (1994–recent), chairperson of the Grootfontein Town Council (1995–1996), part-time teacher at the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL) in Grootfontein (1995–1999), and assistant researcher at the University of Namibia (1997).

Political career

Katjita became a member of the third

in 2000 (representing

SWAPO The South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO ; , SWAVO; , SWAVO), officially known as the SWAPO Party of Namibia, is a political party and former independence movement in Namibia (formerly South West Africa). Founded in 1960, it has been ...

) and remained in office until after the November

2004 Namibian parliamentary election General elections were held in Namibia on 15 and 16 November 2004 to elect the president and members of the National Assembly. The National Assembly election resulted in a landslide win for SWAPO, which won 55 of the 78 seats with over 75% of the ...

. She focused especially on legislation affecting rural areas and was a member of the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

s on Human Resources and Gender Development and on Privileges and Reports of the

Ombudsperson An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

. In 2002, she was appointed chairman of a parliamentary sub-committee to accept nominations for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

in Namibia. Katjita was also a member of the Namibia branch of the

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights. In 1989 the patron of the CPA was the Head ...

and the

, where she was on the Justice and Human Rights Committee and the Pan-African Parliamentary Women Caucus. In July 2005, she was appointed secretary for administration and finance of the Pan African Women’s organization.

References

External links

Parliament of NamibiaMembers of the 3rd National Assembly
of the Republic of Namibia, 1999-2004

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katjita, Lydia 1953 births Living people People from Erongo Region SWAPO politicians Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Members of the Pan-African Parliament from Namibia University of Namibia alumni 21st-century Namibian women politicians 21st-century Namibian politicians Women members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Women members of the Pan-African Parliament