Given the recent statements of President Hifikepunye Pohamba on the necessity of having properly qualified people to head State-owned enterprises (parastatals), we believe that it is equally important to ensure that Permanent Secretaries are appointed on the same basis - namely, that they have working and specialist knowledge of the job descriptions they will be required to take on in whichever Ministry they are appointed.

In the past, the country experienced problems on this very topic, when a 'reshuffle' at this level tended to take place on the say-so of the executive arm of Government, namely the President, whereas in fact Permanent Secretaries fall under the Public Service Commission's terms of reference.

It must be emphasised from the outset that frequent attention has been called to the fact that Ministries are overspending and/or allowing issues such as outstanding S&Ts to get out of control, and these and other similar problems can only be effectively tackled if the men or women in charge are properly equipped to deal with the tasks at hand.

It is also important to bear this in mind when they are transferred from one position to another.

They have to be accountable for the expenditures of their Ministries, and if they are replaced at crucial times for any but good reasons, their successors might not necessarily be as well versed as the incumbents were, unless there is a period of orientation for those taking over.

It is an absolute priority that Government Ministries not only gain control over their finances as a whole, but that they be held accountable when things go wrong, and therefore careful selection of those they employ must be the prime consideration, rather than matters of political concern.

It stands to reason that all Permanent Secretaries have to deal, first and foremost, with budgets and therefore a sound financial background would be indispensable to those assigned to these positions.

It is our understanding that it has been made clear that any 'reshuffle' that will take place, regarding Permanent Secretaries, will be to ensure that properly qualified people are put into these positions, and it is hoped that this will in fact be the case.

Political appointees are just that.

Even Ministers are not necessarily familiar with the portfolios they are given by the President.

This makes the role of Permanent Secretaries even more crucial.

If they were political appointees, they would be unable to take their bosses, the Ministers, to task on over-expenditure, unauthorised expenditure and the like.

So these accounting officers must be 'de-linked' from the political arena for them to function most effectively in their respective Ministries, by keeping expenditure within manageable limits, carefully monitoring budgets, and ensuring that the staff of those ministries comply with clearly set-down procedures in order to keep the costs of Government within reasonable limits.

Namibia has everything to gain, and nothing to lose, by ensuring that the chief accounting officers of Ministries are the best candidates that can be identified for the posts.

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