Tjekero Tweya (born 18 June 1960 in Shamundambo, Okavango Region), is a Namibian politician and trade unionist. Tweya is a member of parliament for SWAPO. He served in the

Cabinet of Namibia The Cabinet of Namibia is an appointed body that was established by Chapter 6 (Articles 35-42) of the Constitution of Namibia. It is mandated to include the following positions: the President of Namibia, the Prime Minister of Namibia and any pos ...

as Minister of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development and as Minister of Information and Communication Technology.

Early life and education

Tweya obtained a Higher Education teaching diploma in 1988 and worked as teacher and principal between 1989 and 1992. He then moved to Windhoek and worked for the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

until 1996. In 1997 he became human resources manager, first at

TransNamib TransNamib Holdings Limited, commonly referred to as TransNamib, is a state-owned railway company in Namibia. Organised as a holding company, it provides both rail and road freight services, as well as passenger rail services. Its headquarters ar ...

and then at

Telecom Namibia Telecom Namibia Limited, commonly known as Telecom Namibia, is a telecommunications service provider operating in Namibia. It is the national telecommunications operator, established in August 1992 and wholly owned by the Government of Namibi ...

. Tweya completed a

BEd A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

(Honours) from the University of Namibia in 1993 and an MBA from the

Management College of Southern Africa The Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA) is a distance education institution located in Durban, South Africa. It is a private higher education institution, established in 1995 as a post-apartheid empowerment institution, offering af ...

in 2012. He also holds certificates from the universities of Manchester and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher l ...

Political career

Tweya joined SWAPO in 1975. In 1985, Tweya helped to found, and was chairperson of, the Namibia National Students Organisation (NANSO). He was the first chairman of the Namibia National Teachers Union (NANTU) between 1989 and 1991, and president of the

National Union of Namibian Workers The National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) is one of three national trade union centers in Namibia. It was established in 1970 and is affiliated with SWAPO, Namibia's ruling political party. History NUNW was originally established as a genera ...

(NUNW), which is one of the

national trade union center A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national trade union center, and many have more than one. In some regions, such a ...

s of Namibia, between 1991 and 1993. Tweya was appointed deputy

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

in 2005. In 2010 he was moved to deputise the Minister of Trade and Industry, and in 2015 he was promoted to Minister of Information and Communication Technology. In a cabinet reshuffle in February 2018 he became Minister of Industrialization, Trade and SME Development. He served until March 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweya, Tjekero 1960 births Living people Members of the National Assembly (Namibia) Namibian trade unionists People from Kavango Region University of Namibia alumni Management College of Southern Africa alumni Harvard University alumni Alumni of the University of Manchester SWAPO politicians Trade and industry ministers of Namibia Information ministers of Namibia