Money outflows worrying

While commending the 42% increase in government's development budget – from N$5.5 billion to N$7.9 billion – Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) MP Mike Kavekotora said under the current administrative flaws, “79% or more” is likely to leave the country because construction projects are primarily going to Chinese construction companies. “All the construction tenders awarded to Chinese and North Korean companies resulted in an outflow of money that created jobs in those respective countries. Effectively Namibia is a net exporter of jobs to other countries,” Kavekotora said in parliament this week.Kavekotora said the Chinese companies are government's “preferred tenderers” for all development or construction projects so far given to foreign entities.He pointed out the millions that were repatriated to North Korea for the construction of the new State House, army facilities, and the Heroes' Acre. Kavekotora also mentioned the money outflows that resulted from the Chinese company involved in the deepening of the Walvis Bay harbour.He said before the Chinese and North Koreans entered the construction industry, it was well-functioning and well-developed, and dominated by Baster builders who he said have done an “excellent job”.“The houses they [Basters] constructed many decades ago still stand. In addition they kept the money in Namibia and contributed to economic growth,” Kavekotora said.He said the huge capital investment in the deepening of the Walvis Bay harbour and the fuel storage facility might have been a waste of scarce resources because the government has failed to do a proper situational analysis.Kavekotora said the Namibian government failed to realise that while China was deepening the port of Walvis Bay, it was pumping millions of US dollars into the Lobito corridor, Angola's transport corridor linking Luanda with the DRC and Zambia.“The increase in the development budget will be meaningless unless benefits accrue to Namibians. Current administrative rules and tender policies are effectively excluding the majority of Namibians,” he criticised.He proposed that at least 70% of the development budget should remain in the country to stimulate economic growth here. He also proposed that loans denominated in foreign currencies exposing the country to currency fluctuations must be done away with. Public wage billKavekotora also criticised government's huge wage bill, saying 26.1% of the Namibian labour force, who work for the government, consume wealth they do not create. The public wage bill stands at 51% of non-interest operating expenditure, constituting a whopping 15.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP). He suggested that government should stimulate economic growth through wealth creation, or reduce its wage bill as a percentage to GDP, or conduct a human resources audit and cut jobs until optimal employment levels are reached.“The government must start incorporating terms such as productivity, effectiveness, efficiency, and value for money in conducting the affairs of state and stop accommodating comrades,” Kavekotora said. CATHERINE SASMAN

Money outflows worrying

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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Money outflows worrying

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-01

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