Africa-Press – Namibia. PRESIDENT Hage Geingob says some ministers are “sitting on opportunities for years without giving any answers”.
Geingob was addressing Cabinet ministers, their deputies, governors and presidential advisers on Friday during a Cabinet retreat. “Last year I was given a document saying people have apparently been discussing things since 2014 with Doha. We are sitting on it. When you work you do it the same day. It is not like things are so difficult, no,” the president said.
He said his ministers should provide feedback in good time. “Why should something lie there, ministers? You may say it is others, but you are in charge . . . You are wasting people’s money. Say yes or no,” the president told the Cabinet. He wants ministers to prioritise projects under Vision 2030 with a 100% execution rate, he said.
“I herewith charge all ministers to ensure they implement to the letter projects under their portfolios, which are contained in the NDP5 [National Development Plan no 5] and HPPII [second Harambee Prosperity Plan] without delay,” the president said.
Geingob said the narrative of African governments’s lack of action should be changed. CORRUPTION Geingob admitted some government officials hint at bribes and kickbacks before they deliver services.
“What I am told is that they will sit on it, some, a very small number. They will sit on it doing nothing, and hint unless you pay this. We must deal with them,” Geingob said.
“If you allow this, you are the guilty one. We did it deliberately for ministers to not have a say in tenders. They don’t have powers,” he told his ministers and their deputies.
Geingob instructed the secretary to the Cabinet, George Simataa, to ensure that executive directors, “who have the powers”, do not engage in corrupt activities.
He, however, maintained that corruption in Namibia is not endemic, nor systemic. APARTHEID Geingob hit back at those saying their living conditions were better during the apartheid era.
“You cannot tell me Namibia under apartheid was better than the Namibia of today. Somebody saying that the boere built houses. Which house? Where is that person coming from?
“So please, what is happening is that people are demanding because they have hopes. When you have no hopes, you sit and suffer peacefully,” Geingob said.
“Let’s complain, but we must stop complaining and tell the truth,” Geingob said.
Newly appointed ombudsman Basilius Dyakugha has also in the past said the government has handed over temporary shacks to Namibians, while houses were built in the 1980s under the apartheid government.
“Yes, we have problems, but you cannot compare Namibia under apartheid with the Namibia of today. They are worlds apart,” Geingob said. The president said when he took office, a “meltdown” started as he was left with a deficit.
“Unlike in the past when you cross over with some money at least. Severe drought followed. Then, as we were navigating out of that, all of sudden an uninvited guest, an independent intervening variable, Covid-19, arrived on our shores.”
Geingob said there are global shortages of fertilisers, grain and wheat as the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues. He said Namibians are often too negative about the country and themselves.
“Each one of us is challenged to form a new mental picture and imagine ourselves in a more positive light,” he said.
FREE PRESS Geingob on Friday further said no journalist was arrested since independence. “We have never arrested or intimidated any journalist. We have the freest press,” he said.
Recently, journalists from National Geographic who were working in the Kavango regions claimed they were intimidated to leave the country despite being in possession of the required documentation.
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