Windhoek
The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture says it has begun work to curb the persistent problem of overspending in the ministry, which has resulted in budget overruns topping N$4 billion between 2010 and 2014.
Despite receiving the biggest chunk of the national budget, it seems the needs of the education sector are far greater than the funds allocated to it.
The education ministry is one of the biggest employers in government and has always spent beyond its means to keep the sector afloat, a situation that has contributed significantly to the current dilemma. According to the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, the ministry’s staff capacity is set at 39 207 for the current financial year, but only 37 743 positions have been fully funded.
Of the N$11.3 billion allocated to the ministry this year, N$8 billion will go towards staff-related expenditure, while the remaining funds will be channeled towards the development budget.
Education Minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa told New Era yesterday that to ensure fiscal discipline, they have set in motion measures to control all unnecessary leakages.
“We are putting measures and systems in place to ensure that there is proper financial accountability. This includes monthly financial reports and budget expenditure reports periodically to ensure that we are where we are [supposed to be] in terms of expenditure,” she said.
Hanse-Himarwa said she also gave directives to staff members to avoid going on unnecessary trips: “We have started putting strict measures in place in terms of cutting trips and purchasing of furniture to make sure we get value for money.”
“Although I cannot explain or respond to overspending that happened before my time, there are unnecessary leakages that can be closed,” the minister noted.
She said one of her targets is to address the spending of a huge chunk of the ministry’s budget on operational expenses. “I’m looking into the imbalance regarding personnel expenditure versus expenditure on capital projects.
“A company was tasked to do some scoping regarding expenditure, so that I can be informed of possible turnaround strategies,” she said. “There is need for a turnaround at the ministry and there is a lot of cleaning up to do,” the minister said.