Defence suspends ‘military exercises’

THE Namibian Defence Force will not be conducting some of its major military exercises this year due to a lack of funds.

Defence minister Penda ya Ndakolo this week said the military would also continue granting compulsory leave to some of its members to save money, and allow for the “provision of basic services to continue”.

The NDF will likewise not recruit members this year.

Ya Ndakolo made these remarks in the National Assembly on Monday while responding to critics, questions and comments on the N$5,9 billion budget allocated to his ministry.

The defence forces received the fourth-highest allocation after basic education (N$13,8 billion), finance (N$10,8 billion) and health (N$6,9 billion).

Ya Ndakolo, however, said the money allocated to his ministry was not enough to cover all its expenses for the year; hence the continuation of cost-cutting measures.

Although the minister said this year’s allocation was not enough, The Namibian reported last year that the ministry spent N$3,7 billion on personnel expenditure in 2017/18.

It is, however, not clear what the NDF would spend on salaries in the current financial year.

The ministry was allocated a combined budget of over N$12 billion in 2017/18 and 2018/19 to carry out training and development programmes, recruit 3 000 members, and conduct research and acquire new military equipment, among other responsibilities.

Despite using up 99,47% of the total budget allocated to the ministry in the previous financial year, the accountability report attached on Ya Ndakolo’s motivation statement which he presented last week, shows that most of defence’s capital projects were not executed. The report shows that the ministry spent N$3,7 billion on the army and 21 brigade expenses; the air force took up N$370 million, while N$377 million covered the expenses of the navy.

Close to N$1 billion was spent on administration, and only N$396 million was spent on the training of defence personnel.

Military health support took up N$104 million from the ministry’s total budget.

The ministry spent N$2,8 million in the office of the minister alone, and another N$62 million was spent on defence attachés.

Despite not achieving most of its targets, Ya Ndakolo said Namibia as a nation should keep making the necessary sacrifices to ensure that “the NDF is adequately resourced” as it was “our national security guarantee”.

He thus expressed disappointment towards the “negative attitude of some citizens” towards the defence budget, saying critics were non-patriotic elements with ulterior motives to disrupt peace in the country.

“Some people say Namibia does not need a defence force because there is no war. You do not wait for a war to start to establish a defence force. “According to an old Latin adage “If you want peace, prepare for war”. This is why we need the Namibian Defence Force to protect peace and stability in our country, and to prevent possible external aggression,” he said.

Ya Ndakolo’s assertions were supported by fellow Swapo parliamentarians, including safety and security deputy minister Daniel Kashikola, and gender equality minister Doreen Sioka, who said those criticising the government’s spending on defence want to blindfold the nation and cause the country to collapse.

Kashikola said cutting the defence budget or having “a small army” would weaken the country’s defence capability, and “the aggressors can come here with impunity”.

Sioka, on the other hand, said the government needs to continue spending heavily on defence to ensure Namibia remains combat-ready to defend its territory and its national interests.

“They are trying to convince us that we remain naked without any ammunition around us to protect our national interests. We cannot be told today that we should not defend ourselves, or that we should not budget to buy weapons. They are trying to blind us so that tomorrow we would be found naked and not prepared for battle,’ she added.

Prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, who also contributed to the debate, said the government would continue allocating resources to defence because it plays a vital role in the country’s socio-economic development agenda by ensuring that “our mining and fishing grounds are protected”.

Land reform minister Utoni Nujoma said Namibians should keep in mind the events which happened in other countries that had natural resources in abundance but didn’t pay attention to defence such as Iraq, Venezuela and Syria, among others.

“When those big countries decide that they want your resources, they want everything, including your children, your women and everything. So, let’s protect our children, our women and our resources,” he said.

Popular Democratic Movement member in the National Assembly, Elma Dienda, however, proposed that the government should instead increase the budget of the safety and security ministry to recruit more police officers to fight crimes.

“We are so much concerned about protecting the borders of this country, but not about what’s happening within the borders of this country. That is our concern,” she said.