President-elect Must Resign and get to Work (Part 2)
SALOM SHILONGO WRITES:
It is not right that a person working for the local authority or the state-owned enterprise is earning far better than a civil servant while they have the same qualifications or are doing the same work. It is not right that a person working for the local authority is earning 21% in pension benefits while the civil servants are earning less than 10% in pension benefits. It is not right that a school dropout working for the local authority or the state-owned enterprises is earning better than an educated civil servant.
A former civil servant who is now working for one of the local authorities said that his current workload is less than when he was working for the government. But his current salary and other benefits are far better than what he was earning when he was a civil servant. So, he is being paid more for doing less.
Namibia needs a lean government. Having a lean Cabinet would ensure that only the brightest minds would serve in the Cabinet. It would also make it easier to fight corruption. The Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) that governed Namibia from 1985-1989 had only eight ministries. While South Africa was in charge of the Ministry of Defence. But after Swapo took over, every Tom and Jerry is now a minister.
William Gumede wrote an article: “African Cabinets Are Too Large,” (The Namibian, 7 April 2023). Which is very true.
Namibia has 23 ministers. While the number of civil servants is about 107 000. About 80 000 civil servants or 80% of the civil servants are working for the top four ministries (the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture has around 40 000 employees, the Ministry of Health and Social services has around 16 000, the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs has about 13 000, while the Ministry of Safety and Security has about 10 000 employees). Some ministries had less than 2 000 employees. Yet the government has to spend money on rent/bills, vehicles, fuel, furniture and other running costs.
UNITED STATES
The United States of America is much bigger than Namibia in terms of the size, population and the economy.
The population is more than 330 million and its economy is the biggest in the world. The economy operates 24 hours a day and the national budget for 2024 is US$6.75 trillion. But the US has only 15 ministers/secretaries. America is also a superpower, often dominating world affairs with just 15 ministers.
Our population is a little over three million. The economy is very small and it does not even operate 24 hours a day. The US GDP is US$27.36 trillion, while Namibia’s GDP is around $13.13 billion. Yet we have so many ministers. So, as the President-elect ponders over her Cabinet pick, she must be reminded of the proverb “too many hands spoil the broth”.
Due to the magnitude of the work ahead, I propose that the President-elect must resign from her current job in order to concentrate on the task ahead. Due to the myriad of problems facing the country, she needs to consult extensively, listen attentively and meditate deeply if she really wants to fix the country. Otherwise she will be remembered as just another “Tanganyika dinosaur”. – End
* Rubrieke, meningstukke, briewe en SMS’e deur lesers en meningvormers weerspieël nie noodwendig die siening van Republikein of Network Media Hub (NMH) nie. As mediahuis onderskryf NMH die etiese kode vir Namibiese media, soos toegepas deur die Media-ombudsman.
It is not right that a person working for the local authority or the state-owned enterprise is earning far better than a civil servant while they have the same qualifications or are doing the same work. It is not right that a person working for the local authority is earning 21% in pension benefits while the civil servants are earning less than 10% in pension benefits. It is not right that a school dropout working for the local authority or the state-owned enterprises is earning better than an educated civil servant.
A former civil servant who is now working for one of the local authorities said that his current workload is less than when he was working for the government. But his current salary and other benefits are far better than what he was earning when he was a civil servant. So, he is being paid more for doing less.
Namibia needs a lean government. Having a lean Cabinet would ensure that only the brightest minds would serve in the Cabinet. It would also make it easier to fight corruption. The Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) that governed Namibia from 1985-1989 had only eight ministries. While South Africa was in charge of the Ministry of Defence. But after Swapo took over, every Tom and Jerry is now a minister.
William Gumede wrote an article: “African Cabinets Are Too Large,” (The Namibian, 7 April 2023). Which is very true.
Namibia has 23 ministers. While the number of civil servants is about 107 000. About 80 000 civil servants or 80% of the civil servants are working for the top four ministries (the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture has around 40 000 employees, the Ministry of Health and Social services has around 16 000, the Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs has about 13 000, while the Ministry of Safety and Security has about 10 000 employees). Some ministries had less than 2 000 employees. Yet the government has to spend money on rent/bills, vehicles, fuel, furniture and other running costs.
UNITED STATES
The United States of America is much bigger than Namibia in terms of the size, population and the economy.
The population is more than 330 million and its economy is the biggest in the world. The economy operates 24 hours a day and the national budget for 2024 is US$6.75 trillion. But the US has only 15 ministers/secretaries. America is also a superpower, often dominating world affairs with just 15 ministers.
Our population is a little over three million. The economy is very small and it does not even operate 24 hours a day. The US GDP is US$27.36 trillion, while Namibia’s GDP is around $13.13 billion. Yet we have so many ministers. So, as the President-elect ponders over her Cabinet pick, she must be reminded of the proverb “too many hands spoil the broth”.
Due to the magnitude of the work ahead, I propose that the President-elect must resign from her current job in order to concentrate on the task ahead. Due to the myriad of problems facing the country, she needs to consult extensively, listen attentively and meditate deeply if she really wants to fix the country. Otherwise she will be remembered as just another “Tanganyika dinosaur”. – End
* Rubrieke, meningstukke, briewe en SMS’e deur lesers en meningvormers weerspieël nie noodwendig die siening van Republikein of Network Media Hub (NMH) nie. As mediahuis onderskryf NMH die etiese kode vir Namibiese media, soos toegepas deur die Media-ombudsman.
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