Call For Probe Into Pandeni’s Ministry

ALLOW me to congratulate President Hifikepunye Pohamba on his efforts to root out corruption and his endeavour to run a transparent and corruption-free Government.

I would like also to commend him on the occasion of addressing Permanent Secretaries as Accounting Officers. As a concerned Namibian citizen (regional planner in the South), I would like to be informed as to how development projects under the Development Budget and The Regional Equity Fund are handled by the Ministry of Regional, and Local Government and how they are selected and funded.I attended the Budget Hearing for the Development Budget conducted by the National Planning Commission somewhere in Oct/November 2005 and was very puzzled by the way our mother Ministry (Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development) is doing its business, and I am sure other Regional Planners, including Chief Regional Officers wonder about the same thing.(1) I would like to be informed who is responsible for deciding how much Region A gets and for what project? Because we submit our projects in order of priority according to our Regional Developmental needs but when it goes to National Planning, the order of priority has been changed without our knowledge.When you ask the Directors, especially the Director of Housing, nobody has an idea.We now wonder who in the Ministry can provide clear guidelines to the Region in this regard.(2) The same question applies to structure and planning of Constituency Offices.We would like to be guided as to why all the constituencies are the same from the Orange to the Zambezi? Can’t the Ministry allow us to design structures according to our needs and preferences? Some colleagues in the Northern Regions are now seeking to build additional office space because the Ministry’s enforced structures are not suitable for the needs of their Council.(3) I would like to also ask the Minister of Regional, Local Government, Housing and Rural Development to inform us why the Ministry allocated the consulting services for construction of constituency offices to one person/company for all thirteen regions? We would like the Ministry to furnish us with a copy of Tender documents and all the related documents relating to the appointment of LI Architects for all thirteen regions for life.If this confusion is not addressed as a matter of urgency, if I was a Cabinet Minister especially for Local Government, I would be embarrassed to even mention implementation of the Swapo Manifesto, Cabinet Retreat, Millennium Development Goals or Vision 2030, because this Ministry is number one on the list of preventing achievement of those things.We hear a lot about the Regional Equity Fund, especially at workshops conducted by the Ministry.We know want to know, how can we access funding? We are now tired of hearing that the trust fund is not run by the Ministry, the but that they only make provision for N$30 million on a yearly basis and that it is run by a Board of Trustees (the Permanent Secretary of Finance as a Chairperson; the Permanent Secretary of National Planning Commission and the Permanent Secretary of our mother Ministry), and the provisions are never enough.Some Ministry officials refer us to the Technical Services Division.Minister Pandeni, how can we access funding from the Trust Fund? (2) If the funds are never enough for all thirteen regions why then late last year did the Fund place adverts to recruit personnel to administer it? The Ministry has lot of staff left redundant under decentralisation who can be reassigned to do work at the Trust Fund and free this money up for town/regions which have never benefited from it.I am told much of the money goes to a company called Preferred Management Consulting Services.Can the Chairperson of the Trust Fund tell us who appointed this company and why it is the only one mainly overseeing most of the projects from the Trust Fund? (3) Recently our Ministry constructed houses for our Cuban planners and engineers in most of the Regions.Since the Regional Councils were not the ones paying, they did not bother to question the price.These are two-bedroom houses with no garages and land is donated for free but they all cost between N$380 000 and N$430 000.If you add professional fees, these houses cost in the region of N$500 000.Fellow Namibians, even in Windhoek, Katutura, Rocky Crest or Khomasdal, can you build a two-bedroom house costing that much? This is what we call misuse of Government funds.This type of thing the Ministry sends to the Regional Tender Board for endorsement but if this is the Ministry’s money, why didn’t they send it to the National Tender Board? Last but not least, we have received notification that the Ministry will draw up our operational budget soon.Please let’s be serious this time.If this Ministry is really serious about utilising scarce resources, it better start with itself.If you enter offices for even clerks in the ministry, they all have leather furniture.And on average they give Regional Councils approval for one or two vehicles.If you come to the Ministry staff who do not have provisions for vehicles they are allocated vehicles over 24 hours.This information is divulged to us by the Ministry’s junior staff who come to our Regions to assist us in some areas.If this Government is serious about efficiency, consistency and Zero Tolerance for Corruption, the Ministry of Regional, Local Government and Housing will be a good clean-up exercise.If the President is serious about his inaugural statements, these are a few ideas.I would also like to hear from the Minister of Regional and Local Government because they motivate funds from Parliament, and therefore must account to the Namibian people with regard to regional development planning.Fessy Windhoek Note: Real name and address provided – EdAs a concerned Namibian citizen (regional planner in the South), I would like to be informed as to how development projects under the Development Budget and The Regional Equity Fund are handled by the Ministry of Regional, and Local Government and how they are selected and funded.I attended the Budget Hearing for the Development Budget conducted by the National Planning Commission somewhere in Oct/November 2005 and was very puzzled by the way our mother Ministry (Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development) is doing its business, and I am sure other Regional Planners, including Chief Regional Officers wonder about the same thing.(1) I would like to be informed who is responsible for deciding how much Region A gets and for what project? Because we submit our projects in order of priority according to our Regional Developmental needs but when it goes to National Planning, the order of priority has been changed without our knowledge.When you ask the Directors, especially the Director of Housing, nobody has an idea.We now wonder who in the Ministry can provide clear guidelines to the Region in this regard.(2) The same question applies to structure and planning of Constituency Offices.We would like to be guided as to why all the constituencies are the same from the Orange to the Zambezi? Can’t the Ministry allow us to design structures according to our needs and preferences? Some colleagues in the Northern Regions are now seeking to build additional office space because the Ministry’s enforced structures are not suitable for the needs of their Council.(3) I would like to also ask the Minister of Regional, Local Government, Housing and Rural Development to inform us why the Ministry allocated the consulting services for construction of constituency offices to one person/company for all thirteen regions? We would like the Ministry to furnish us with a copy of Tender documents and all the related documents relating to the appointment of LI Architects for all thirteen regions for life.If this confusion is not addressed as a matter of urgency, if I was a Cabinet Minister especially for Local Government, I would be embarrassed to even mention implementation of the Swapo Manifesto, Cabinet Retreat, Millennium Development Goals or Vision 2030, because this Ministry is number one on the list of preventing achievement of those things.We hear a lot about the Regional Equity Fund, especially at workshops conducted by the Ministry.We know want to know, how can we access funding? We are now tired of hearing that the trust fund is not run by the Ministry, the but that they only make provision for N$30 million on a yearly basis and that it is run by a Board of Trustees (the Permanent Secretary of Finance as a Chairperson; the Permanent Secretary of National Planning Commission and the Permanent Secretary of our mother Ministry), and the provisions are never enough.Some Ministry officials refer us to the Technical Services Division.Minister Pandeni, how can we access funding from the Trust Fund? (2) If the funds are never enough for all thirteen regions why then late last year did the Fund place adverts to recruit personnel to administer it? The Ministry has lot of staff left redundant under decentralisation who can be reassigned to do work at the Trust Fund and free this money up for town/regions which have never benefited from it.I am told much of the money goes to a company called Preferred Management Consulting Services.Can the Chairperson of the Trust Fund tell us who appointed this company and why it is the only one mainly overseeing most of the projects from the Trust Fund? (3) Recently our Ministry constructed houses for our Cuban planners and engineers in most of the Regions.Since the Regional Councils were not the ones paying, they did not bother to question the price.These are two-bedroom houses with no garages and land is donated for free but they all cost between N$380 000 and N$430 000.If you add professional fees, these houses cost in the region of N$500 000.Fellow Namibians, even in Windhoek, Katutura, Rocky Crest or Khomasdal, can you build a two-bedroom house costing that much? This is what we call misuse of Government funds.This type of thing the Ministry sends to the Regional Tender Board for endorsement but if this is the Ministry’s money, why didn’t they send it to the National Tender Board? Last but not least, we have received notification that the Ministry will draw up our operational budget soon.Please let’s be serious this time.If this Ministry is really serious about utilising scarce resources, it better start with itself.If you enter offices for even clerks in the ministry, they all have leather furniture.And on average they give Regional Councils approval for one or two vehicles.If you come to the Ministry staff who do not have provisions for vehicles they are allocated vehicles over 24 hours.This information is divulged to us by the Ministry’s junior staff who come to our Regions to assist us in some areas.If this Government is serious about efficiency, consistency and Zero Tolerance for Corruption, the Ministry of Regional, Local Government and Housing will be a good clean-up exercise.If the President is serious about his inaugural statements, these are a few ideas.I would also like to hear from the Minister of Regional and Local Government because they motivate funds from Parliament, and therefore must account to the Namibian people with regard to regional development planning.Fessy Windhoek Note: Real name and address provided – Ed