John Grobler
President Sam Nujoma of Namibia has declared war on all forms of government waste and called for the elimination of any unnecessary expenditure by top officials of his government, including giving up their Mercedes-Benz vehicles and overseas trips.
In a hard-hitting and frank speech to his Cabinet on Tuesday at its first meeting this year, Nujoma outlined how both political office bearers and top civil servants were frittering away resources that he said should be used to fight poverty.
”We are the servants of the Namibian people. It is high time that we start behaving as such, in humility and in exemplary ways,” Nujoma told his Cabinet.
In December Nujoma announced he would be giving up his personal fleet of Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars and use a Chevrolet Blazer instead for his personal transport. The official presidential motorcade of 13 cars would only be used for visiting royalty and heads of state, Nujoma said. He also called for all top official to give up their BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes, and use Toyota Camrys instead.
Nujoma told his ministers and top officials that he expected them to follow his example.
Nujoma said he had also cancelled all overseas trips except obligatory trips to the annual summits of the Commonwealth, the Organisation of African Unity and meetings he has to attend in his capacity as chair of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community.
He disclosed that a Namibian delegation to the United Nations millennium summit last year had set back Namibian taxpayers nearly R2-million. He said 10 attending MPs had spent R800?000, while his own official delegation of 19 people and running costs of his Falcon executive jet had set back the taxpayers R1,1-million.
”I believe that such a large number representing a small country like Namibia is excessive. It would have been far more affordable if a smaller number of our MPs attended [the summit],” Nujoma said.
The president also lashed out at ministers who claim subsistence and travel allowances when they visit their constituencies in northern Namibia, about 600km north of Windhoek.
”It has come to my attention that political office bearers apply for subsistence and travel allowances when they visit their home villages and farms. I regard these as private travels for which the political office bearers must spend their own income,” Nujoma said.
While generally welcoming the presidential cost-cutting initiative, opposition parties said the announcements were late and amounted to ”peanuts” when compared to how much Namibia was spending on maintaining a force in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Namibia is spending at least R180-million a year on maintaining an estimated 2?000 to 2?500 troops in Congo alongside Zimbabwe and Angola, although indirect expenses could double the costs.
But Nujoma said those who criti-cised Namibia’s presence in Congo were short-sighted, as the cost incurred was preferable to the total regional disintegration and bloodshed that would follow if Congo should fall apart completely.