THE government will spend N$23 million this year on the Office of the Vice President and those of two former presidents for operations, a budget statement issued last week said.
The total budget allocation for the Office of the President amounts to N$435 million this year.
A budget statement presented by presidential affairs minister Martin Andjaba this week shows that N$9,4 million will go towards supporting the vice president’s office, a position that was controversially introduced by president Hage Geingob four years ago.
Andjaba said the government will allocate N$13,8 million for the operations of the offices of former presidents Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba.
The Office of the President alone was allocated N$124 million this financial year, Andjaba said, which includes the undertaking or hosting of state and official visits.
“As chair of the Southern African Development Community, the president is also expected to carry out mandated functions of our regional body, including spearheading regional economic integration and preserving peace and stability in the region.”
Andjaba’s statement shows that around N$226 million of the total State House budget will be used by the Namibia Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) to detect and identify threats or potential threats to Namibia’s security.
He said this will contribute to “the maintenance of peace, security and stability in the country”.
The intelligence sector has for years been a hotbed for secretive tenders and transactions.
Meanwhile, the government will this year construct a new embassy in the United Arab Emirates, international relations minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah announced this week.
She made this announcement during her N$941 million ministerial budget presentation to parliament last week.
“I wish to announce that Namibia will commence with the process of opening an embassy in the United Arab Emirates, and a general consulate in Lubumbashi in the DRC during this financial year,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah, who doubles as the deputy prime minister, did not reveal the total cost of the project, but said N$587 million of the ministry’s budget will fund the operations of Namibian missions.
Namibia has diplomatic relations with over 150 countries around the world, the minister stated.
She said the N$587 million will fund 31 missions and two posts abroad to carry out promotional activities, lease offices and pay for staff accommodation and remuneration to both home-based and locally recruited staff.
The same budget will be used for the payment of school fees and medical costs for staff and their dependants, as well as the maintenance of vehicles and equipment.
“The ministry’s focus will be on the acquisition of properties as a priority area in order to reduce the rental costs, which are extremely high in foreign countries, as well as to generate revenue in order to ease pressure on treasury,” she added.
Where possible, space at embassies will be rented out to generate income.
“This revenue will then be partly utilised for the operations of our diplomatic missions and posts,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
The minister also said that the website for the 34 diplomatic missions will be standardised, with the intention of creating a uniform identity for Namibia’s diplomatic missions.
– shinovene@namibian.com.na. Twitter: @ShinOvene
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