Africa-China unpaid bills ‘not our responsibility’

MINISTRY of Youth and Sport publicly distanced itself from any responsibility ascribed to it for the outstanding bills of the Africa-China Young Leaders Forum that took place in May.

Despite the fact that the forum was hosted by the Swapo Party and the Communist Party of China, a spat ensued between Swapo Party Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and Youth Minister Kazenambo Kazenambo when the latter refused to pick up the tab when the Chinese delegation who purportedly promised to cover all costs, failed to do so.With many unpaid bills at the end of the conference and service providers clamouring for payment, Iivula-Ithana reportedly approached the Ministries of Youth and Trade to cover the costs. At a press briefing yesterday, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Peingeondjabi Shipoh said earlier speculations in the local media that the Ministry has failed to honour its commitments towards the forum are devoid of any truth.'[All] alleged pending payment for the forum if owed by our ministry should be presented with proof of prior approval through a submission with related procurement documents such as requisitions, quotations, orders and general expense forms all in the name of our ministry,’ said Shipoh. In case of a ‘bail out’ of Swapo, he said, ‘there are also procedures involved and the authority in Government that can direct any Government institution to incur such expenditure is through directives of Cabinet’. Shipoh notwithstanding said the fact that the event was hosted by the Swapo Party and the Communist Party of China, due to the magnitude of the event a request was made that various Government institutions – notably the Ministries of Youth as well as Trade and Industry – be involved. Shipoh said this position was reaffirmed by the Swapo Party Central Committee meeting that resolved that the forum be held in ‘coordination’ with the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Swapo Party SG and the party’s youth wing, as well as the said Ministries. The Namibian has it on good authority that there was also a directive from the Swapo Party Politburo.Whatever the circumstances, Shipoh said that the Ministry’s part in the ‘coordination’ does not necessarily translate into a financial commitment. He said the understanding and position regarding the forum expenditure was the responsibility of the Chinese counterpart right from the start. The exact amount of the unpaid bills could not be established, and the Chinese Embassy in Namibia would not say much about the matter either, except to say that it is still in the process of finding out why the Chinese counterparts to the forum decided not to pay the bills it had earlier committed itself to. Shipoh said the Ministry had committed to provide local transport for the invited foreign delegation from and to the airport, their accommodation and forum venues through the Ministry of Works and Transport.Government also committed to provide security through the Ministry of Safety and Security, accessibility to health facilities through the Ministry of Health, and the facilitation of visas through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Shipoh said this was done on the basis of the Ministry’s bilateral exchange programme procedures. He added that the young Chinese martial art delegation was organised within the framework of Namibia/China cultural exchange, with all expenditures for the 27 delegates taken care of by the Ministry of Youth.Rally for Democracy and Progress Youth League (RDPYL) yesterday said the tug-of-war between Iivula-Ithana and Kazenambo in an attempt to ‘make the taxpayers to foot the bill of N$1,5 million’ should be condemned. ‘If the forum was a brainchild of Swapo and the Communist Party of China, why are they not paying the bills?’ questioned the RDPYL. The RDP youth wing secretary Sibuku Malumbano said none of the Swapo party wings have a mandate to dictate to the Government to pay their bills.’That is tantamount to grand corruption. The Government is accountable to all people of Namibia as taxpayers and voters,’ said the RDPYL.