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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 79178, member: 636"] The president of Namibia, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, has taken fewer trips abroad than her recent predecessors. In her first ten months as head of state, she made twenty-eight international journeys, visiting ten countries and spending about twenty-eight days outside Namibia. This travel qualified her for roughly one point three million Namibian dollars in subsistence allowances. Her spokesperson, Jonas Mbambo, stated she chose to focus on domestic issues first, often sending her vice president or cabinet ministers like Selma Ashipala-Musavyi to events instead. Analysts have mixed views on the costs and benefits. One expert, Henning Melber, noted that the reduced travel saves money on allowances and presidential aircraft operation. He suggested scrutinizing the size of official delegations and questioned the value of brief appearances at large summits like the G20 meeting in Johannesburg, though he acknowledged such events can raise the country's global profile. Another commentator, Rui Tyitende, argued foreign travel must show clear benefits for ordinary citizens, suggesting ambassadors should handle routine diplomatic work instead. Her travel has been mostly regional, involving six trips within the Southern African Development Community early in her term. Notable journeys included a visit to Tanzania, where she is known as Mama Swapo due to her time there during the liberation struggle, and longer stays for the United Nations General Assembly in New York and a climate conference in Belem, Brazil, which accounted for the largest portions of her travel allowances. This pattern of fewer and more regional trips, with delegation to other officials, marks a shift from the extensive international schedules of former presidents Hage Geingob and Nangolo Mbumba. [/QUOTE]

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