Africa-Press – Namibia. PRESIDENT Hage Geingob has decided to cancel his State Visits to Jamaica and the Republic of Cuba, which were scheduled for 4 to 8 August and 8 to 12 August respectively, to attend to the potential strike of Civil Servants as a pressing domestic matter.
The purpose of the State Visit to Jamaica was for the president to address a special session of the Jamaican Parliament and to be a Guest of Honour at the 60th celebrations of the independence of Jamaica. Geingob was invited by the Head of the Government of Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holmes, in recognition of his efforts in advancing solidarity and economic cooperation with Jamaica and Africans in displacement.
This was supposed to be followed by the State Visit to the Republic of Cuba, where Geingob was to receive the Order of Jose Julian Marti, which is the highest national honour.
However, the presidency explained, these visits were cancelled in light of the anticipated strike by civil servants, which 42 216 civil servants from all regions voted for, while 1 232 voted against it.
The presidency explained that the dispute is about a lack of consensus on the increment of wages and benefits of those employed in public service, but noted that this is not a result of the government’s failure to make an offer.
Geingob said that the Government Negotiating Team (GNT) presented a new offer that increased the total value of housing and transport benefits from the initial N$226 million to N$335 million. This will take effect from the 2022/2023 financial year and not in the 2021/2022 financial year as per the demands of the Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU) and the Namibia National Teachers Union (NANTU).
The presidency said that this was reiterated to both NAPWU and NANTU.
Geingob also appealed to those who voted in favour of the strike, urging them not to pressure those who are willing to work and to show solidarity for those who are unemployed or who lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The presidency also highlighted that the country has been experiencing economic hardships since 2016, especially with regards to revenue decline, and explained that the government focused on managing revenue through a fiscal consolidation strategy to stabilise the economy, which resulted in a reduction of about 8% of government spending. However, the presidency said, the outbreak of Covid-19 eroded such economic gains and prospects for recovery.
To further reduce cost, the presidency explained, Geingob also reduced the size of substantive Cabinet portfolios and reduced benefits of Political Office Bearers, which resulted in savings of close to N$200 million.
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