Parliament in brief

MOOTU DEMANDS TRANSPARENCY IN GOVT YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP FUNDING

Landless People’s Movement parliamentarian Utaara Mootu has placed an urgent call to address the need for transparent accountability of the government’s commitments in financially supporting youth entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystems.

Mootu said this on Wednesday while tabling a motion that demands an immediate action to rectify the shortcomings and proposed dynamic solutions for fostering a thriving entrepreneurial landscape for the youth of Namibia.

She said despite numerous initiatives and substantial budget allocations, support for young entrepreneurs and small and medium sized enterprises remain inadequate, marred by inefficiency, corruption and a lack of transparency.

DROUGHT RELIEF CHALLENGES

Deputy prime minister John Mutorwa told Popular Democratic Movement lawmaker Diederik Vries that to deal with the shortage of transport, the government has enlisted the services of private trucks in the regions to expedite the distribution of drought relief items.

“The government is also hard at work to address the lack of manpower in the regions by recruiting additional personnel to assist the Regional Disaster Field Coordinators (one for each region) to complement regional councils and constituencies with more beneficiaries. This process is nearing completion,” he says.

RESETTLEMENT FARMS STRATEGY

Agriculture, water and land reform minister Calle Schlettwein says they have strategies in place to bridge the identified gaps in the current resettlement programme.

“The current arrears of this Revolving Fund Facility are standing at the staggering figure of 48% of arrears,” he says.

Schlettwein has explained that despite the arrears, the ministry is in discussion with Agribank to look into the possibility of increasing the current amount of N$200 000 to N$500 000 without a collateral.

“In addition to the financial support, the ministry provides pre- and post-training to all resettlement beneficiaries. To address the issue of water scarcity, the ministry has acquired a fleet of drilling rigs to improve water supply by drilling boreholes in the resettlement farms. However, we must understand that the water scarcity in our country is a challenge since Namibia is a semi desert country,” the minister says.

Another challenge is the insufficient budget which limits the ministry in offering all the required support to the resettlement beneficiaries

HEALTH CHALLENGES

Health and social services miniser Kalumbi Shangula says the challenge being experienced at the ward in question at the Katutura Intermediate Hospital, relates to the high number of mothers who accompany admitted babies and toddlers in the hospital.

“Thus, while the wards were originally designed to accommodate a certain number of babies and toddlers without lodger mothers, the presence of the accompanying mothers exacerbates the over-crowdedness,” he says.

Shangula says a decision was taken not to send mothers home, but to allow then to remain close to their admitted babies to breastfeed them, as this is vital to the health and growth of these babies, who are in fact unwell.

“It is for the same reason, for example, that a new district hospital is being built in Windhoek, in order to decongest the existing health facilities,” he says.

On food shortages, the minister says the quantity of food provided to the patients is determined according to the dietary needs of a patient.

“This is done taking into account the daily recommended calorie intake of the patients. While the majority of patients consume an ordinary diet, there are some who are on special diets, including patients suffering from diabetes mellitus and other ailments or those who require a liquid diet,” he says.

Shangula says his ministry does not tolerate any form of non-compliance and any company or service provider that does not abide by or comply with the stated specifications will face sanctions.

“The ministry will not hesitate to recommend to the Central Procurement Board the debarment of any defaulting company from taking place in procurement activities related to the provision of catering services to public entities,” Shangula adds.

– Compiled by Envaalde Matheus and Shelleygan Petersen