Travel ban 'too little, too late'

President Hage Geingob's travel ban is a “little too late” and may not save the “sinking Namibian ship”, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader McHenry Venaani claimed yesterday.The presidency this week announced a ban on foreign trips for ministers, deputy ministers and political office bearers at least for the month of February in order to rein in government spending. “The directive is specifically in the interest of curtailing public expenditure. No request for outbound travel for ministers, deputy ministers, and other political office bearers will be considered until the end of February 2018,” the presidency statement read. The ban was announced shortly after Geingob had used a scheduled commercial flight to travel to the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, last week. Geingob returned yesterday afternoon. Geingob had also swapped his presidential jet for an Air Namibia commercial flight when he holidayed in Cape Town last year. While commending the president for his attempts to cut costs, the young opposition leader believes it will not hold in the long run.According to Venaani, the president cannot spend millions by using the private jet for one full year and suddenly cut costs only because he sees people struggling. “By doing this he just further demonstrates that the country is really in economic dire straits, but it is not a bad thing to cut costs. There is always a need to ask which trips necessitate private trips. If he had started that culture since he took office then it would have held, but now it just shows that this government does not have a culture of saving,” he said. Venaani, instead, encouraged political office bearers to travel within the country to acquaint themselves with the needs of the poor. Local economist Omu Kakujaha-Matundu said most government officials had for years treated the government as a cash cow by cashing in on subsistence and travelling (S&T) allowances. He also called on the heads of state-owned enterprises to heed the president's call. “The money spent on wasteful trips should rather be used to pay for children's education. How many billions would we not have saved had we been saving all these years? Even trips inland to unnecessary workshops should also be banned,” he said. Presidential affairs minister Frans Kapofi said the president was expected to review the ban after February and would eventually decide whether it would be done away with or adjusted. “I am sure the president will look at the ban and see whether it has worked,” he said. JEMIMA BEUKES

Travel ban 'too little, too late'

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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Travel ban 'too little, too late'

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-01

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