WINDHOEK – “In light of the suffering out there and our ministry’s crucial role in improving the peoples’ quality of life, it is not acceptable to return money to the treasury,” Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry (MAWF), Joseph Iita, said last Friday in his New Year’s welcoming address.
Iita said its makes him truly uncomfortable when the country faces huge challenges, but simultaneously return money to the treasury because the MAWF fails to utilise its budget as intended. “This is just not acceptable,” he said. His revelation about money being returned to treasury comes at the same time New Era received a document accusing the MAWF of sending back more than half a billion dollars of unspent money to treasury over the past four years. Claiming chronic unspent money by the MAWF, the document in possession of New Era cites the year 2012 as an example, claiming the MAWF returned N$152 million in that budget year alone. Minister Mutorwa was handed a copy of the document, and promised New Era to respond to the serious allegations contained in it soon. Iita said the MAWF requests a budget for a reason and money allocated must be used. “The tendency of budgeting for a three year project within one financial year should not be allowed to continue. It distorts the government budgeting system and causes unnecessary and expensive borrowing by the state,” he warned. “Our people need every cent to contribute towards their well-being and service delivery, and who are we to deny them what they need? These are the same people who voted for this government. It is the ministry’s duty to deliver on promises and not to disappoint those who entrusted us with this responsibility.
Often money meant for communication systems is returned to treasury, while staff members in the regions have neither laptops nor personal computers,” he lamented. Iita also addressed the issue of late payment of staff members, saying it is very disturbing to hear that some casual workers have not been paid on time and had to wait for months before receiving their hard-earned money. “We have to value and respect one another, so let us pay everyone on time, each and every time. There is nothing more degrading than letting someone go through the festive season without pay,” he said.
By Deon Schlechter