WINDHOEK – A number of ministries underspent on their development expenditures for the 2012/13 financial years, reducing development spending by 23 percent. There was N$6,3 billion budgeted to be used for development in the country, however government only spent N$5,6 billion, compared to the N$7,3 billion of the development expenditure spent in the previous financial year.
According to the government’s Accountability Report for the 2013/13 financial year, the Ministry of Gender and Child Welfare only spent N$42,3 million of N$71,7 million they received for development, while the finance ministry only spent N$N$57 million of the N$79,3 million allocated under development expenditure. The agriculture ministry spent N$696,5 million of the N$1,03 billion allocated for development last year. The health ministry spent N$306,8 million out of the allocated N$438,5 million received for development expenditure. Although the development expenditure allocation for works was N$59,5 million, the actual spending was only N$37,9 million.
The Treasury did however report a number of achievements including the fact that no ministry overspent on the development budget for the 2012/13 financial year, unlike in the previous year when one ministry did overspend.
The Accountability Report indicates that the 2012/13 financial year also saw the number of tourist arrivals exceeded 1 million, with over 160 new accommodation facilities opened in 2012, creating close to 1 000 jobs, a development that was mostly on the back of the stabilising of developed economies.
Over 150 schools and government facilities in rural areas have been electrified. Further, important transport infrastructure projects during the review period have been completed. These include Phase 2 of the Rundu-Elundu road upgrading, the Okahandja-Karibib road rehabilitation, the upgrading of the Gobabis-Otjinene road, Okahao-Omakange road, and Phase II of the northern railway extension project. In addition the fight against malaria and tuberculosis and rolling-out of anti-retroviral drugs recorded a coverage rate in excess of 85 percent.
Government successfully managed to reduce the number of waiting days for issuing of passports, national identity documents and citizenship by descent documents. The waiting period improved from 90 working days to 60 working days for national identity documents and the issuing of passports and visas was reduced to within 10 working days and 30 days for citizenship by descent.
Further the financial year saw the birth of the 10-year Financial Sector Strategy and Action Plan, focusing on financial deepening and development, strengthening financial safety nets, financial inclusion, while localisation of the sector and skills development were finalised and launched as part of this strategy. The Financial Literacy Initiative Campaign was rolled out to various regions of the country.
Among the challenges recorded are the reduction in development partner funding to the health sector that has had a negative impact on programmatic service delivery areas such as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. Government also experienced the continued lack and shortcoming of trained and skilled personnel in the public service, lack of serviced industrial land and the high cost of purchasing and servicing land for industrial purposes combined with increased costs of building materials, which have negatively impacted national industrialisation.
The other challenges were that the provision of affordable housing for the majority of the population remains a priority for government, given high property prices and the scarcity of serviced land; as well as the occasional foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks in the Zambezi Region, which hamper the marketing of animals for slaughter, and the increase in the backlog of cases in the High Court and lower courts.
By Desie Heita