Reduce civil service – DTA
DTA shares insight into what is required by government.
With a possible downgrade by ratings agencies Fitch and Moody's a possibility, DTA of Namibia secretary-general Nico Smit recently expressed his dissatisfaction with government's spending priorities and suggested what he thinks will bode well for the country going forward.
“It is my belief that government must immediately announce a reduction in the size of civil service, which accounts for a disproportionate percentage of public expenditure through the civil service wage bill.
“Government's role in creating employment must be limited to creating and maintaining a legislative and policy environment that is conducive to the establishment of private business and attractive to foreign investment.
“A government should never be directly involved in employment creation to the extent that the Namibian government has been since independence,” he said.
“It is my conviction that over the longer term government must do away with all earlier targets for budget deficits, and that the national budget must be compiled with the distinct aim of generating a surplus. This is because it is only through accumulating sufficient reserves that one can embark on a sustainable and responsible programme of borrowing.”
Should the government wish to return the economy to growth, it would need to take a proactive approach to reducing public expenditure, said Smit.
“Now is the time for economic and financial discipline, as a lack thereof has the very real potential to undo all of the development progress that government has experienced since 2010.
It is time for government to issue a clear directive on budget deficits and government debt, and it is even more important that government's actions match its words in this regard,” he concluded.
STAFF REPORTER
“It is my belief that government must immediately announce a reduction in the size of civil service, which accounts for a disproportionate percentage of public expenditure through the civil service wage bill.
“Government's role in creating employment must be limited to creating and maintaining a legislative and policy environment that is conducive to the establishment of private business and attractive to foreign investment.
“A government should never be directly involved in employment creation to the extent that the Namibian government has been since independence,” he said.
“It is my conviction that over the longer term government must do away with all earlier targets for budget deficits, and that the national budget must be compiled with the distinct aim of generating a surplus. This is because it is only through accumulating sufficient reserves that one can embark on a sustainable and responsible programme of borrowing.”
Should the government wish to return the economy to growth, it would need to take a proactive approach to reducing public expenditure, said Smit.
“Now is the time for economic and financial discipline, as a lack thereof has the very real potential to undo all of the development progress that government has experienced since 2010.
It is time for government to issue a clear directive on budget deficits and government debt, and it is even more important that government's actions match its words in this regard,” he concluded.
STAFF REPORTER
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