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Friday, April 26, 2002 - Web posted at 7:23:06 pm GMT

PM says his office feeling the pinch

THE Office of the Prime Minister will have to do with two per cent less money than it had last year.

Motivating his office's budget in the National Assembly yesterday, Prime Minister Hage Geingob said a ceiling of N$56,7 million was put on his budget this year and the amount will reach N$59 million next year before it hits N$61 million in the last financial year of the Rolling Budget.

Although this year's amount will be two per cent less than last year, the budget will show an average increase of 2,33 per cent annually over the next three years.

Geingob said the bulk of the money, or 66 per cent, will go towards personnel expenditure, noting that the increase in personnel expenditure was crowding out money for goods and services and the acquisition of capital assets.

The Prime Minister said he had had to curtail the activities of his Office.

The adverse impact of foreign exchange rates and the exorbitant cost of air travel, especially the Falcon aircraft which flies at a cost of nearly N$21 000 an hour, had been heavily felt, he said.