WINDHOEK – Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Bernard Haufiku, at the weekend said he would not tolerate unscrupulous individuals who are out to misuse the state’s resources.
Such people would be cut off as the new health minister wants people who are transparent, accountable and true to their responsibility in as far as the public is concerned.
“I would for one never defend any person that either diverts funds or steals from the state. There are people who are benefiting from the system across the board. They are either benefitting by stealing time from work doing other things or mismanagement of funds or lack of maintenance of facilities,” Haufiku told reporters on Saturday.
Furthermore, Haufiku, who was responding to a question on how he would address the problem of tenders being allocated dubiously in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, stressed that the allocation of tenders must “be more transparent”.
“Those who know me know that I tend to be tough on financing,” remarked Haufiku. He added that everybody who can deliver must be given a chance, as tenders will not just be given to one person.
“My contract at the ministry (of health) is to ensure that there is deliverance. We have to be transparent in whatever we do,” said Haufiku.
Furthermore, Haufiku who spoke at a seminar organised by the Namibia Medical Society on Saturday said that collectively taking ownership of health care service delivery in Namibia and commitment to work hard in order to meet set goals should be the norm.
“I strongly discourage individualism, shifting of blames and finger pointing. I am mindful of the fact that we are under pressure to deliver quality and equitable services to our nation. This is more so in the public sector than anywhere else. We have no choice but to align ourselves and work as a team for better results,” added Haufiku.
For this to happen, Haufiku emphasised that there must be better communication between stakeholders in order for people to understand each other and as a result implement policies and establish robust peer review and quality implementation.