By Josef Kefas Sheehama
Namibia is facing economic difficulties, and the government is struggling to pay its 107,000 employees. The government plans to retrench civil servants to cut its wage bill and offer effective services at both levels of government. However, retrenchment can have a deteriorating effect on the mental health of people, and civil servants are essential to providing critical social services.
To revive the economy, Namibia needs to abolish unnecessary spending instead of retrenching civil servants. One solution is to eliminate duplicate positions such as deputy ministers, governors, and zombie State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and cut the number of ministers. For example, there is no need for deputy ministers, who duplicate the functions of ministers and executive directors. Similarly, governors are redundant, and councils and mayors should be given the responsibility to perform or provide jobs. A lean cabinet made up of the right people, ideally, technocrats are necessary to decide on government policies. Real investment needs to be attracted to develop strategic development projects, and SOEs should be commercialized or reformed without further delay.
Increasing the salaries of most civil servants is also necessary, and strikes in public services should be avoided. To prevent the loss of many jobs, the next president should establish a framework to enhance connectivity and visibility of innovation, including entrepreneurs, research institutions, business support entities, and investors to nurture and cultivate a vibrant entrepreneurial network. Improving industrial dialogue that involves the needs of public service users is necessary to arrive at social harmony in which the freedom of some does not interfere unduly with that of others.
In conclusion, Namibia cannot afford to economize civil servants, and the government should abolish unnecessary spending instead of retrenching them. The focus should be on attracting real investment and commercializing or reforming SOEs, and a lean cabinet made up of the right people is necessary to decide on government policies. Increasing the salaries of most civil servants is necessary, and strikes in public services should be avoided. The government should establish a framework to enhance connectivity and visibility of innovation, including entrepreneurs, research institutions, business support entities, and investors to nurture and cultivate a vibrant entrepreneurial network.
