Welcome to PLUS online

Finance Minister Applies Budgetary Brakes

With a budget labelled by the opposition as "debt crisis" and "no options budget", Namibia’s first female finance minister, Saraa Kuugongelwa-Amathila Wednesday tabled her first national appropriation for 2004/05. Surprisingly, expenditure is only N$ 449,67 million higher than last year. Total expected expenditure will be N$ 12,69 billion, compared to N$ 12,24 billion for 2003/04. Taxes remain unchanged, but pensioners will receive an N$ 50 increase to N$ 300 per month. However, Air Namibia will receive N$ 366 million, costing taxpayers almost N$ 2 billion in the past 7 years. All vacant posts are frozen. Parastatals must pay loan levies from next month and land tax will be collected by the 2nd half of 2004.

The minister also tabled a 3-year rolling budget, predicting expenditure for 2005/06 at only N$ 12,29 billion and for 2006/07 at N$ 12,37 billion. Education gets the lion share of 20% (N$8.9bn), followed by 13% (N$ 5.4bn) for health. The defence budget for the first time goes over the one billion mark with N$ 1,08bn or 9% of the budget. Next year defence will receive N$1,22bn and for 2006/07 as much as N$1,34bn. The budget deficit for 2003/04 is 4.15%, but the Minister wants to bring it down to 1.5% this year and the next 2 fiscal years. "The budget is too stringent," said economic expert Dr Rainer Ritter, while DTA chairman Johan de Waal told PLUS, his party had criticised Government since 1997 for overspending and finally this was realised. De Waal said the Minister had no option but to introduce strict saving measures.

Nepotism Alleged at Eenhana Town Council

Recent complaints on NBC radio of alleged nepotism by the CEO of the Eenhana town council and the mayoress for employing several of their relatives were said to be unfounded. A follow up of the National Society for Human Rights revealed that the CEO, Mr A. Uyepa had not employed 7 relatives. He had no influence on employment issues he told NSHR representative. The mayoress, Ms Hilde Shimbode could not be reached for comment due to illness. Residents of Eenhana alleged, she employed 4 relatives.

Maersk Starts new Sea Route via Walvis

Maersk Sealand will on 29 March introduce the world’s first direct line shipping service between West Africa and South America in response to customer demands. Under the name SAWA DIRECT (South America/West Africa) a new, direct freight service with the east coast of South America with fortnightly calls by three vessels with an average capacity of 1 100 TEU’s and 150 reefer plugs will commence. The service will offer extensive coverage through direct calls to the main markets, along with a feeder option via Walvis Bay, Angola, Pointe Noire (DRC), and Abidjan. From South America, feedering starts from Rio de Janeiro, Santos and Paranagua via the Rio Plata to complete the extensive coverage. The first vessel left Itajai on 13 March 2004 and calls the following ports: Buenos Aires - Montevideo - Rio Grande - Walvis Bay (29 March) - Lobito - Luanda - Pointe Noire - Libreville – Apapa - Abidjan and back to Itajai.

Police seize drugs worth N$ 419 630

The Namibian police force managed to arrest altogether 57 people carrying cocaine, crack, 4 Ecstasy pills plus 1029 Mandrax tablets worth N$ 51 456 and a staggering consignment of 116 466 kilograms of cannabis (dagga). The dagga is valued at N$ 349 498, according to Chief Inspector Hophni Hamufungu of the public liaison unit. The operations were undertaken at the beginning of this year until this month, Hamufungu said in this week’s crime bulletin. Additionally 10 cases of liquor were confiscated worth N$ 11 340.

Meatco Decreases Quota

Meatco’s Windhoek Abattoir has decreased the slaughter quota of 430 cattle per day to 250 cattle a day for an indefinite period, following a decision by the employees of the Windhoek abattoir to stop working overtime. All producers who are due to send their cattle to the Windhoek abattoir during the following week will be contacted individually about this development.

This decision by the employees follows feedback on talks held by Meatco last week regarding annual salary increases. Staff from Katima, Oshakati, Okahandja and the Tannery indicated their readiness to continue with negotiations. Only employees from Windhoek started to boycott overtime and sent management their demands giving an ultimatum of 48 hours.

Although their letter gave Meatco the 2 days ultimatum, Windhoek employees were told they must follow the procedures set down by the Labour Law and agreed upon by the group during negotiations last week. Any action other than that would be viewed as unlawful and would be dealt with as such, Willem /Nanub, human resources manager at Meatco, informed the workers. Meatco management started talks with the entire group of representatives from its different business units and found it "unacceptable that the Windhoek abattoir now wanted to negotiate on their own terms," /Nanub said in a statement.