TSUMEB – Deputy Minister of Public Enterprises Engel Nawatiseb has reiterated that the newly introduced ministry will closely monitor the performance of SOEs and demand accountability while accelerating much-needed economic growth across the country.
“Our ministry is tasked to strengthen the capacity of SOEs in order to improve their performance and accelerate economic growth and in so doing create wealth and cross-subsidizing jobs for all Namibians,” stated Nawatiseb said.
Speaking at the belated independence celebrations in Tsumeb on Saturday, Nawatiseb said the new ministry, through performance monitoring management systems, would demand absolute delivery from those at the helm of these public enterprises to ensure efficiency and accountability.
He said many SOEs were not correctly utilising the millions pumped in by government and that it was time these SOEs aligned themselves with the national economic growth strategies in place.
“It is a fact that government, as a shareholder, continues to pump in millions into the coffers of some SOEs yet they do not align their business with the national growth strategies arising out of the country’s national development plans. It is high time that all of us play our fiduciary roles by mastering the concept of smart partnership so that we can collectively fight poverty and hunger by standing together in building this new Namibian house in which no Namibian will feel left out,” he stated.
He noted, “Our ministry, by virtue of it being a new-kid-on-the-block is currently engaging the legislative process to arm us fully to execute our mandate of monitoring and supervising the SOEs and subsequently demand absolute delivery and accountability by introducing portfolio-to-output performance management systems.”
Born and bred in Tsumeb, Nawatiseb sang praises of the Tsumeb business community for being committed to the social well being of the communities that are in need.
“I literally want to praise sing and commend our local enterprises and companies in Tsumeb and the Oshikoto Region at large, who have realised the need to cross-subsidize government efforts to address the poverty situation by donating to our communities,” he said the former mayor of Tsumeb.