WINDHOEK – President Hage Geingob is on the hunt for ways to cut public spending and has invited the public to help him devise workable solutions to this effect.
In fact, the President has revealed that the winning proposal to cut public spending will win a prize.
He was speaking last Thursday night during the opening of the induction seminar for ministers, governors and permanent secretaries in Windhoek.
Geingob slammed what he termed “wastage” in the public sector. He cited, as an example, the practice of having civil servants, especially heads of parastatals, on suspension while still receiving their full salaries and benefits.
“We have about 80 suspended MDs (managing directors) and directors who are still on full pay, that is wastage. If we can correct such things we will realise how well we can save money in government,” a clearly concerned Geingob said.
Geingob told the officials present that the only way to make strides towards economic emancipation and meet the countless expectations of the public is through developing “a passion for our work”, adding that success cannot be achieved in the absence of passion.
“We need to have a feel for what we do; similar to how a conductor at an orchestra has a feel for the flow of the tunes. Ministers need to become conductors of their ministerial orchestras and the whole system should culminate in a crescendo of excellence. We cannot achieve this if we lack the passion for our work,” he said.
Geingob also lashed out at civil servants who live by the “thank God it is Friday” (TGIF) principle and those who are content with mediocrity. “This culture of some officials sitting in their offices content with mediocrity must stop. Most live by the TGIF principle while only a few are committed to their work. We all need to give 100 percent because we are all responsible to deliver to the nation,” he said.
He urged the officials to adopt a culture of work ethics.
With many sectors of society bemoaning the bloated civil service, Geingob said: “We need to deliver, because when you deliver people will not see a big civil service, they only see it when there is no service delivery.”
He also encouraged government officials to stop serving as public servants while concurrently pursuing business interests.
“You need to choose one because you cannot do both things. If you choose both then one of them is bound to be neglected. This will also spell a possible conflict of interest. This practice must end because the two things cannot be combined. This is a social contract I beg you to accept,” he said.
He also said there is a need to intensify efforts to ensure that lawmakers declare their assets.
The last time lawmakers declared their assets was in 2009.
This has since left lawmakers to accusations of conflict of interest and using parliament to formulate laws, which benefit their business interests and that of their cronies.
Geingob was also disappointed by a number of long-serving lawmakers who still do not own houses, calling them a “waste”.
“Some of you are still poor but we started together in 1990. If you have been a minister since independence you must have assets, if not then you are a waste. Some of you do not even own a house or a car, you want to remain revolutionaries forever,” said Geingob.
Geingob urged lawmakers to declare their assets, saying, “Please declare your assets, it is to protect you.”