DTA slams Geingob's remarks

The DTA of Namibia has slammed a media briefing held by President Hage Geingob on Monday, saying that his message lacked real substance and value.

On the issue of the SME Bank, the DTA described the president's remarks as laughable and inappropriate.

In a statement issued yesterday, DTA member of parliament Nico Smit said he believed the press briefing was not held because Geingob had anything meaningful to say, but rather because he wanted to be seen saying something.

“The president's response to public questions regarding his silence on matters of national importance in recent times has, in my opinion, fallen woefully short,” Smit said.

With regard to the SME Bank saga, Smit said it was shocking that the president suggested that the former chairmen of the SME Bank, Frans Kapofi and George Simataa, should not be blamed for the “calamitous exercise” in the mismanagement and misappropriation of a public institution and resources.

He pointed out that both Kapofi and Simataa had a fiduciary duty towards the SME Bank. “It is laughable that President Geingob would regard it as the responsibility of the Bank of Namibia to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the management and board of the SME Bank as set out in law, and one has to question whether President Geingob is familiar with the contents of the Companies Act. This is nothing short of an exercise to protect the politically connected.” Smit said it was even more disturbing how inappropriate the president's comments about the SME Bank were. Smit pointed out that the Speaker of the National Assembly had recently ruled a motion to discuss the SME Bank out of order, citing that the matter was sub-judice. DTA president McHenry Venaani intended to table in the National Assembly.

“If parliament, the highest law-making body in the country, is prohibited from debating a matter because it is before the courts, then similarly the president is required to show restraint despite the fact that his political lieutenants are the ones under the spotlight. It is also ironic that the president would continually make reference to the importance of allowing justice to take its course, yet he sees it fit to intervene in the process and prescribe outcomes.”

With regard to the Geingob's assessment that the economy was doing better than what was being projected in the media and discussed in public, Smit said much of Geingob's optimism about Namibia's economic outlook was based purely on hope.

“His reference to a recovery in the agriculture sector and Windhoek's water stocks is based on good rainfall during the recently ended rainy season. However, the president conveniently does not address the question of where we will find ourselves should we suffer poor rains in the coming rainy season.”

According to Smit, he also found little comfort in the president's optimism about economic recovery in South Africa and Angola. According to him, economic forecasts South Africa remain subdued and in Angola there are likewise no concrete signs of recovery.

“While a loan from the African Development Bank has eased the [Namibian] government's liquidity crisis and has no doubt alleviated the dire situation we face, this action alone is not sustainable,” the DTA politician asserted.

Smit said borrowing money to pay off debt could never be seen as a viable long-term solution.