Windhoek
President Hage Geingob has justified his recent string of foreign trips – saying they were all necessary to undertake.
“I would not undertake any useless trip,” he said when asked why he was travelling after banning members of his executive from globetrotting.
Since the start of his presidency Geingob visited countries such as Nigeria, Mali, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Egypt and Zimbabwe.
“As President, I do not apply to ministers to travel because I am the President. I do not need to ask permission from ministers,” he said.
He said all the trips he undertook so far are of national importance.
“You saw when I was inaugurated there were a number of presidents who attended, do you want to say they have more money to travel than me?” charged Geingob who has so far attended the inauguration of his Nigerian and Mozambican counterparts.
He also warned government officials from travelling for the sake of travelling.
Geingob said there have been some of the newly appointed ministers, who from the day of their appointment, already planned to travel.
“I have called on Cabinet ministers to first familiarise themselves with local conditions as well as introducing themselves to Namibians before travelling abroad,” he said.
Geingob further said: “Travelling must have tangible results and delegations must be limited.”
He also attended the SADC Summit in South Africa recently – where discussions of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) topped the agenda. Attorney General Sacky Shanghala has advised government to commit to the TFTA, after initial hesitation.
Proxies not welcome
More than a month after leader of the official opposition McHenry Venaani called on government to devise ways to probe the proxies of lawmakers, who in most cases are smokescreens of their political masters in the private sector, Geingob distanced himself from the corrupt practice.
After having declared his assets last month, several critics claimed that Geingob was making use of proxies to hide some of his assets and wealth.
“After declaring my assets there were questions about proxies to which I have replied by saying that any proxies in my name must be regarded by the proxy holder as their own. The same applies to ministers. If you hold proxies for ministers, regard that as lawfully belonging to you,” he said.
Geingob said he directed Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila to ensure that all public servants, especially permanent secretaries declare their assets.
He said the move is aimed at avoiding any conflict of interest.