A dangerous precedent Revelations this week that President Hage Geingob has approved the transfer of more than N$11 million from the Social Security Commission towards the training of the struggle kids has been frowned upon, and rightfully so. To taxpayers and ordinary citizens, this cloak of secrecy under which public funds are handled is a reminder that government is not walking the talk when it comes to their apparent policy of transparency and accountability. The latest shenanigans confirm our assertions that dodgy dealings within government are still rampantly the order of the day. Namibians have the right to scrutinise and hold government officials accountable when questionable dealings are exposed. Secretary to Cabinet George Simataa this week claimed that the issue to transfer SSC funds to government to address the plight of the struggle kids was a Cabinet decision. However, if such a decision were in the interests of the Namibian public, surely they wouldn’t have hesitated to make it public, as is normally done with other Cabinet decisions. Seemingly ordinary Namibian workers, who contribute to this very development fund through their hard earned Social Security contributions, are apparently not the only ones in the dark, since the association representing the struggle kids (who are seemingly the beneficiaries) is said to have no idea about this transfer of N$11 million either.
When it was announced earlier that the struggle kids would receive a monthly grant while on training, Namibians had already raised questions as to where this money will come from. This was the perfect time for Cabinet to offer the required clarity and answers, instead of these secret dealings. The SSC Act is clear and does not give authority to the president or the labour minister to authorise the release of funds from the SSC Development Fund. This is clearly an irresponsible act and should not go unchallenged. The authorities are setting a dangerous precedent and this not good for our cash-strapped government, which is struggling to deal with a myriad of serious issues, including teachers’ salaries and frozen state tenders. Let’s not forget, our Kora millions are still missing to this day.