S&T
Government’s subsistence and travel (S&T) allowances, which have come under fire repeatedly in the past, are set to balloon to N$700 million during the 2014/15 financial year.
This is up by N$110 million from last year’s figure of N$590 million.
The chairperson of the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee, Swanu MP Usutuaije Maamberua, said the increase could be linked to a number of things including the pivotal role Namibia is playing on the global stage, as well as efforts by the government to take its services to the regions.
“It is not so much about money but accountability. Are we getting value for money? Are we providing the services?” Maamberua asked yesterday.
The biggest S&T spenders are the police at over N$95 million, followed by Ministry of Health – N$65 million, Ministry of Environment and Tourism– N$55 million, Defence – N$54 million and the Ministry of Agriculture with N$53 million.
This is in stark contrast to the N$1.9 million allocated to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
These figures are contained in the ‘Estimates of Revenue, Income and Expenditure’ document tabled in the National Assembly this week as part of the national budget.
The document projects that S&T claims by civil servants will rise to N$760 million in the 2015/16 financial year and N$860 million in 2016/17.
S&T spending in the office of President Hifikepunye Pohamba will receive N$14.1 million, which is double the amount it spent in the current financial year.
Prime Minister Hage Geingob’s office last year spent N$9.5 million on S&T but will receive N$853 000 less than that amount this year.
The National Planning Commission, under Tom Alweendo, last year spent N$3.3 million on S&T but will now receive a handsome N$15.3 million from Treasury.
The ministry of agriculture will this year have to make do with N$53 million for S&T compared to the N$70 million spent last year.
Parliamentarians and the support staff of the National Assembly racked up a heavy S&T bill of N$15.6 million last year, and can look forward to getting only N$1 million more this year.
Maamberua said this figure may be justified if the government’s intention is to bring services closer to the nation by sending people such as agricultural extension officers, nurses, doctors and road inspectors into the regions.
“The figure can be reduced by the decentralisation of government services. But the [policy of] decentralisation is not working. It was conceptualised in the mid-90s but it has not been implemented yet.”
Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said S&T and the purchasing of new government vehicles are some of the drivers behind the large increase in the total budget for the year.
The government will spend close to N$1 billion on new cars this year.
“Six votes alone represented 60% of the increase in operational expenditure in 2014/15,” financial services company IJG Securities indicated in its budget analysis.
“Large increases in defence and education remuneration [add] almost N$3 billion of additional expenditure to the operational costs of government,” it added.
Pensioners
The heartbreaking news that government will not be increasing the N$600 old age pension this year has left the elderly to soldier on in poverty and misery.
This, coupled with the continued drought in the northern regions, has left many questioning why Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila did not include an increase for them as part of the country’s N$60 billion national budget announced on Wednesday.
The minister said the elderly will only get an increase during the 2015/16 financial year.
This comes amid huge food price hikes.
Paulina Kamanya, a 78-year-old pensioner from Ompumbu in the Oshana Region, claims that with the pension payout she receives every month she has to feed her family, buy toiletries and pay school fees for her grandchildren, among other things.
“Just do the mathematics. If I buy soap, body lotion, cooking oil and food for my family, there is very little left of the N$600 I receive every month,” said Kamanya.
With four grandchildren living under her roof, who all attend school, Kamanya added that she also has to buy school uniforms and make sure that there is always a little money available should one of the grandchildren fall ill.
Although four of her nine children are still alive, Kamanya insists that they do not financially aid her, as they also have families of their own to support.
“Two of my children work, but no one supports me because they have their own families to feed. I am entirely dependent on my pension and what I get from my mahangu field. With the poor rains we have been receiving though, I don’t have a lot of hope that we will produce any crops this year,” explained Kamanya.
“We were all looking forward to an increase of N$100 this year and I really don’t know how we will manage.”
Another pensioner at Ompumbu, 76-year-old Julia Joshua told Namibian Sun that although she received her pension just yesterday, she has only been left with N$300 after buying basic necessities.
“I bought bread for my grandchildren, sugar for tea, a few toiletries and meat for us to eat and half of my pension was up.
I was really looking forward to an additional N$100 on the pension payout,” said Joshua.
Joshua, whose husband died many years ago, has six grown children who occasionally assist in supplementing her pension that often doesn’t last all month.
“Some of my children support me financially, but others are struggling to take care of their own families. In fact, some of them brought their children to live with me because they are also struggling to take care of them,” she said.
Kamati Nekwaya, 75, from Omuthitu in the Omusati Region has expressed disappointment at government’s failure to increase their pension during an election year and at a time that many farmers are struggling after several years of drought.
Although Nekwaya does not financially support his grandchildren, he claims his money is mostly spent on his livestock and making sure that those living under his roof do not go to bed hungry.
“My wife is too young to receive pension, so we both have to survive on what I get. Most or all of them time, the money never reaches the next payout. Government should have thought long and hard before deciding against giving us an increase at a time when we need it the most,” said Nekwaya.
Government’s subsistence and travel (S&T) allowances, which have come under fire repeatedly in the past, are set to balloon to N$700 million during the 2014/15 financial year.
This is up by N$110 million from last year’s figure of N$590 million.
The chairperson of the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee, Swanu MP Usutuaije Maamberua, said the increase could be linked to a number of things including the pivotal role Namibia is playing on the global stage, as well as efforts by the government to take its services to the regions.
“It is not so much about money but accountability. Are we getting value for money? Are we providing the services?” Maamberua asked yesterday.
The biggest S&T spenders are the police at over N$95 million, followed by Ministry of Health – N$65 million, Ministry of Environment and Tourism– N$55 million, Defence – N$54 million and the Ministry of Agriculture with N$53 million.
This is in stark contrast to the N$1.9 million allocated to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
These figures are contained in the ‘Estimates of Revenue, Income and Expenditure’ document tabled in the National Assembly this week as part of the national budget.
The document projects that S&T claims by civil servants will rise to N$760 million in the 2015/16 financial year and N$860 million in 2016/17.
S&T spending in the office of President Hifikepunye Pohamba will receive N$14.1 million, which is double the amount it spent in the current financial year.
Prime Minister Hage Geingob’s office last year spent N$9.5 million on S&T but will receive N$853 000 less than that amount this year.
The National Planning Commission, under Tom Alweendo, last year spent N$3.3 million on S&T but will now receive a handsome N$15.3 million from Treasury.
The ministry of agriculture will this year have to make do with N$53 million for S&T compared to the N$70 million spent last year.
Parliamentarians and the support staff of the National Assembly racked up a heavy S&T bill of N$15.6 million last year, and can look forward to getting only N$1 million more this year.
Maamberua said this figure may be justified if the government’s intention is to bring services closer to the nation by sending people such as agricultural extension officers, nurses, doctors and road inspectors into the regions.
“The figure can be reduced by the decentralisation of government services. But the [policy of] decentralisation is not working. It was conceptualised in the mid-90s but it has not been implemented yet.”
Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said S&T and the purchasing of new government vehicles are some of the drivers behind the large increase in the total budget for the year.
The government will spend close to N$1 billion on new cars this year.
“Six votes alone represented 60% of the increase in operational expenditure in 2014/15,” financial services company IJG Securities indicated in its budget analysis.
“Large increases in defence and education remuneration [add] almost N$3 billion of additional expenditure to the operational costs of government,” it added.
Pensioners
The heartbreaking news that government will not be increasing the N$600 old age pension this year has left the elderly to soldier on in poverty and misery.
This, coupled with the continued drought in the northern regions, has left many questioning why Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila did not include an increase for them as part of the country’s N$60 billion national budget announced on Wednesday.
The minister said the elderly will only get an increase during the 2015/16 financial year.
This comes amid huge food price hikes.
Paulina Kamanya, a 78-year-old pensioner from Ompumbu in the Oshana Region, claims that with the pension payout she receives every month she has to feed her family, buy toiletries and pay school fees for her grandchildren, among other things.
“Just do the mathematics. If I buy soap, body lotion, cooking oil and food for my family, there is very little left of the N$600 I receive every month,” said Kamanya.
With four grandchildren living under her roof, who all attend school, Kamanya added that she also has to buy school uniforms and make sure that there is always a little money available should one of the grandchildren fall ill.
Although four of her nine children are still alive, Kamanya insists that they do not financially aid her, as they also have families of their own to support.
“Two of my children work, but no one supports me because they have their own families to feed. I am entirely dependent on my pension and what I get from my mahangu field. With the poor rains we have been receiving though, I don’t have a lot of hope that we will produce any crops this year,” explained Kamanya.
“We were all looking forward to an increase of N$100 this year and I really don’t know how we will manage.”
Another pensioner at Ompumbu, 76-year-old Julia Joshua told Namibian Sun that although she received her pension just yesterday, she has only been left with N$300 after buying basic necessities.
“I bought bread for my grandchildren, sugar for tea, a few toiletries and meat for us to eat and half of my pension was up.
I was really looking forward to an additional N$100 on the pension payout,” said Joshua.
Joshua, whose husband died many years ago, has six grown children who occasionally assist in supplementing her pension that often doesn’t last all month.
“Some of my children support me financially, but others are struggling to take care of their own families. In fact, some of them brought their children to live with me because they are also struggling to take care of them,” she said.
Kamati Nekwaya, 75, from Omuthitu in the Omusati Region has expressed disappointment at government’s failure to increase their pension during an election year and at a time that many farmers are struggling after several years of drought.
Although Nekwaya does not financially support his grandchildren, he claims his money is mostly spent on his livestock and making sure that those living under his roof do not go to bed hungry.
“My wife is too young to receive pension, so we both have to survive on what I get. Most or all of them time, the money never reaches the next payout. Government should have thought long and hard before deciding against giving us an increase at a time when we need it the most,” said Nekwaya.
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