WINDHOEK – Government is building a new administrative building to accommodate more than 400 staff members of the Prime Minister’s Office, who are currently scattered around Windhoek, said Deputy Prime Minister Marco Hausiku.
The budget for the construction of the building is N$600 million, and Hausiku said that phrasing the budget allocation as though it is going to the prime minister himself is misleading.
“The office of the prime minister does not consist of the prime minister as an exclusive individual, who is to occupy an office costing N$600 million. Neither, is this office meant for the prime minister but to address a real office shortage problem which was identified long before the current prime minister [Dr Hage Geingob] came into office,” he told the National Assembly this week.
He said the Prime Minister’s Office has an approved structure of 415 staff members consisting of two directorates, namely the Prime Minister’s Bureau (including the deputy prime minister) and the Department of Administration and Information Technology Management.
He explained that these institutions provide specialised services to the Namibian public as well as to other state and non-state institutions, adding that these directorates also ensure that the prime minister’s oversight function is exercised in a transparent, responsible and timeous manner.
Hausiku said the construction of the new building originated from the pressing accommodation needs experienced by the 415 staff of the office who are currently scattered around Windhoek.
Given the fact that most staff are scattered around in different buildings, Hausiku said it is a big challenge for the management of the Prime Minister’s Office to create, coordinate and harmonise an effective functional team.
“Therefore, the building project of a centralised head office to accommodate the prime minister’s staff is an urgent and a real sensible priority, which should have been attended to a long time ago. To avoid a negative impact on the co-ordination a centralised office where all staff members are accommodated is a necessity. We believe that this project will promote efficiency, coherence, and effectiveness of the public sector through monitoring and evaluation exercises,” he justified the building of the new office complex.
Some of the staff are currently operating from the Prime Minister’s Office itself, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, United House building, Frans Indongo Gardens, EDRMS-Independence Avenue building, the Old Mutual office complex and Brendan Simbwaye building.