IPC MPs slams N$20 million allocation to non-existent upstream petroleum unit

Opposition members in parliament on Thursday criticised the N$20 million allocation to the upstream petroleum unit, arguing the unit does not yet exist under law and the funding is premature.

The motivation budget of the Office of the President, tabled on Wednesday by prime minister Elijah Ngurare, revealed an allocation of N$1.2 billion for the 2026/27 fiscal year, including N$20 million that the opposition had questioned.

Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) parliamentarian Michael Mwashindange claims, that while the same law the executive brought to the National Assembly for amendment is still being discussed, N$20 million has already been budgeted “for a unit that does not exist in the law yet.”

“I suggest that this N$20 million be put under the minister of industries, mines and energy as per what the law says. The upstream unit does not exist in our laws,” he said.

Mwashindange said even if president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah anticipates that the petroleum bill will be passed, she must still wait for parliament to pass it.

He called on the president to do the right thing, referring to her remarks that corruption will be treated as an act of treason, and argued that allocating funds to a unit not recognised by law is corruption.

Another IPC member, Elvis Lizazi, also rejected the allocated funds, proposing that the money be directed to pressing issues rather than a unit that is not a “creature of law”.

He added that he will not be part of an “illegal process.”

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