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Want some insight in Namibian politics? I am no expert but have 16 years (1995-2011) of writing on Namibian politics in The Namibian newspaper and can probably offer you a bit more than you know about the who's who in the Namibian political zoo. You will also find a few articles commenting on other issues of concern in the country. Hope you find it interesting. - Christof

Monday, February 14, 2011

Parastatals are no milk cows

AS I alluded to in an earlier column, President Hifikepunye Pohamba needs to leave a mark with his second term and it will do wonders for his efforts if he takes time to give serious consideration to the (re)appointment of all parastatal boards before he departs with much fanfare in 2015.

Although I was initially opposed to the constitutional changes giving him powers to appoint regional governors, I have since become a reluctant supporter of the move after seeing what the young man in the Karas region, Clinton Swartbooi, has achieved in a relatively short time.
He has proven that, given the right appointments, some of the social dilemmas facing our people can change dramatically.
It is also the reason why I hope that some of the sleeping governors will have received infused fire in their bellies during the past week’s induction/workshop in Windhoek.
While the President is showing some true mettle he could also turn his attention to the parastatals or State-owned enterprises, SOEs as they are known.
This week Cabinet announced the names of those who will serve on the NamWater and Meatco boards - both very important parastatals in the country.
Parastatals have become milk cows for many in the past as has been frequently revealed in a number of financial scandals.
In many instances in the past, the knowledge, experience and expertise of people were almost not considered at all when appointing boards and this in turn affected their output negatively.
This was worsened by the fact that chief executives and managing directors were also handpicked based on their allegiances either to State House, certain ministers or other influential characters.
This ultimately affected production and, while some parastatals were supposed to pay dividends, Government kept on pumping money into their running costs.
This despite the fact that some heads of such parastatals were raking in millions through salaries, bonuses and other benefits.
Under Pohamba Government seems to have started intervening in the affairs of the SOEs for the right reasons.
Although many believe that the plan may backfire, Cabinet has already decided to restrain the excesses at parastatals through putting a cap on salaries and other perks.
This means that the Namibia Wildlife Resorts will no longer be able to pay its Managing Director N$1,7 million as it used to give Tobie Aupindi, and Air Namibia will be forced to reduce theirs to N$1,5 million from the N$2,4 million Kosmos Egumbo was reportedly collecting.
The Cabinet’s cap not only affects heads of parastatals but also their senior managers. Board directors are also not excluded.
We have had reports and stories about some directors who stay in Windhoek yet submit their residential addresses as their farms in order to claim travel allowances. Others would ensure they had long drawn-out meetings because they are paid hourly.
Perhaps to put a cap on the salaries is too simplistic a solution, because it implies that the massive losses to the parastatals can be ascribed to overpaid CEOs and boards but there is a combination of both very high salaries as well as board members who are not knowledgeable enough - and neither is acceptable.
So while President Pohamba is on a serious drive to leave State House with a bang, key to the changes he wishes to undertake will be the question of ‘jobs for comrades’ or ‘tested cadres’.
Although the Swapo Party Think-Tank is a matter for internal discussion, it should have, by now, given an indication of the level of knowledge and dedication of some of those serving on it.
I am not advocating for Cabinet to only recruit people who have served on the party Think-Tank but it can be used as a platform to test the dedication of the party cadres instead of throwing them into the lions’ den at parastatals and expecting them to deliver.
It is time for our parastatals to become revenue-generating institutions for the country. So far there are a few key exceptions which have known stable and consistent management and lack of interference, while most of them simply don’t get on with the job.
This despite the fact the board members take home thousands and the heads of parastatals continue operating with hardly any serious consequences if they fail to deliver.
Parastatals should stop being milk cows and President Pohamba remains the key to positive change in this regard.

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