Geingob defends bloated civil service
President Hage Geingob yesterday responded to criticism of a bloated public service, saying it was creating job opportunities for Namibians.
“It is true that the structure of the public service is bloated. This is mainly due to the historical reality that we inherited civil servants from the structures which existed during the apartheid era in the interest of reconciliation,” Geingob told his office staff during a welcoming address at State House yesterday.
“If we were to downsize now, we would end up sending many people into the streets and add to the already high number of unemployed people.”
The bloated public service, which has over 100 000 workers, has caused government expenditure to rise yearly and the annual wage bill is over N$22 billion.
Geingob encouraged his staff to be more efficient and accelerate service delivery.
“What we need to do is to improve our performance and output. This year, let us disappoint the naysayers with success. Let us defeat them with hard work. Let us deliver, deliver, and deliver.
We will succeed if we establish a culture of efficient and effective service delivery,” he said.
The president also defended his decision to appoint presidential advisors in 2015. He argued that the idea of appointing advisors was nothing new.
Geingob has been criticised for his expensive team of advisors, who are referred to as the 'A-Team'.
Geingob's A-Team includes former statistician-general John Steytler, former Namdeb Holdings chief executive officer Inge Zamwaani-Kamwi, former Team Namibia CEO Daisry Mathias, former Millennium Challenge Account Namibia CEO Penny Akwenye and former NBC boss Albertus Aochamub.
Geingob has also been accused of duplication for appointing two deputy ministers in certain portfolios.
“This presidency has been tasked with bringing about shared prosperity in Namibia, and that requires a new approach to doing things; it requires an organisational change,” he said.
“It is for this reason that certain ministries and offices have been created. It is also the reason that we have appointed presidential advisors, who possess the requisite competencies to provide executive support for our strategic efforts.
“Presidential advisors have always been part of our structure. This is not a new concept, except the fact that we have catered for youth and business, since these are crucial sectors in our developmental efforts.”
STAFF REPORTER
“It is true that the structure of the public service is bloated. This is mainly due to the historical reality that we inherited civil servants from the structures which existed during the apartheid era in the interest of reconciliation,” Geingob told his office staff during a welcoming address at State House yesterday.
“If we were to downsize now, we would end up sending many people into the streets and add to the already high number of unemployed people.”
The bloated public service, which has over 100 000 workers, has caused government expenditure to rise yearly and the annual wage bill is over N$22 billion.
Geingob encouraged his staff to be more efficient and accelerate service delivery.
“What we need to do is to improve our performance and output. This year, let us disappoint the naysayers with success. Let us defeat them with hard work. Let us deliver, deliver, and deliver.
We will succeed if we establish a culture of efficient and effective service delivery,” he said.
The president also defended his decision to appoint presidential advisors in 2015. He argued that the idea of appointing advisors was nothing new.
Geingob has been criticised for his expensive team of advisors, who are referred to as the 'A-Team'.
Geingob's A-Team includes former statistician-general John Steytler, former Namdeb Holdings chief executive officer Inge Zamwaani-Kamwi, former Team Namibia CEO Daisry Mathias, former Millennium Challenge Account Namibia CEO Penny Akwenye and former NBC boss Albertus Aochamub.
Geingob has also been accused of duplication for appointing two deputy ministers in certain portfolios.
“This presidency has been tasked with bringing about shared prosperity in Namibia, and that requires a new approach to doing things; it requires an organisational change,” he said.
“It is for this reason that certain ministries and offices have been created. It is also the reason that we have appointed presidential advisors, who possess the requisite competencies to provide executive support for our strategic efforts.
“Presidential advisors have always been part of our structure. This is not a new concept, except the fact that we have catered for youth and business, since these are crucial sectors in our developmental efforts.”
STAFF REPORTER
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