'Geingob must get rid of A-Team'
President Hage Geingob has been urged to do away with his advisory team by trade unionist Mahongora Kavihuha, who made the call in a statement yesterday. According to Kavihuha, the A-Team is expensive and duplicates functions.
“As we are preparing to hear our national budget surprises, we are urging our President Hage Geingob to be brave and bold enough to take a responsive and cost-cutting decision by reducing his cabinet and getting rid of his mini cabinet in the form of his very expensive A-Team,” said Kavihuha.
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 been accused of duplication for appointing two deputy ministers in certain portfolios.
Continued Kavihuha: “In fact the size of the cabinet is not supported by anything except political ego and in reality it makes a mockery of the very principles of democracy by reducing the parliamentary role of overseeing the executive which compromises the existence role of parliament as third institutional pillar of the state.”
Kavihuha also used the opportunity to castigate government's spending priorities.
He listed subsistence and travel allowances as unessential, while the moratorium on major construction projects hit construction workers the hardest.
“We hope this crisis will be well managed of course by using the proposal to avoid running to the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank for bailouts because it will be catastrophic to our social programmes such as free education, the old pension and free health,” he said.
“As we are preparing to hear our national budget surprises, we are urging our President Hage Geingob to be brave and bold enough to take a responsive and cost-cutting decision by reducing his cabinet and getting rid of his mini cabinet in the form of his very expensive A-Team,” said Kavihuha.
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 been accused of duplication for appointing two deputy ministers in certain portfolios.
Continued Kavihuha: “In fact the size of the cabinet is not supported by anything except political ego and in reality it makes a mockery of the very principles of democracy by reducing the parliamentary role of overseeing the executive which compromises the existence role of parliament as third institutional pillar of the state.”
Kavihuha also used the opportunity to castigate government's spending priorities.
He listed subsistence and travel allowances as unessential, while the moratorium on major construction projects hit construction workers the hardest.
“We hope this crisis will be well managed of course by using the proposal to avoid running to the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank for bailouts because it will be catastrophic to our social programmes such as free education, the old pension and free health,” he said.
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