Schlettwein challenges Venaani to chart Tipeeg failure

WINDHOEK, 20 SEP  – The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader should come forth with empirical evidence to prove that money was swindled from the Targeted Intervention Programme for Employment and Economic Growth (Tipeeg) on which government spent N.dollars 13 billion.
PDM President McHenry Venaani must also report those who stole money from the programme to law enforcement agencies, said Finance Minister, Calle Schlettwein in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
He was responding to Venaani’s earlier statements on Tipeeg, which Venaani labelled a failure.
Venaani attributed Namibia’s “bleeding economy” to Tipeeg and advised government to be cautious not to make similar errors with other foreign-funded projects.
“Tipeeg targets were not met, money was stolen and the projects not completed,” Venaani was quoted as saying.
In his ministerial statement on Tuesday, Schlettwein challenged Venaani to provide evidence to validate his claims.
“If honourable Venaani is privy to the information of money having been stolen as per his public statement, it is expected that he would come forth to report such criminal dealings,” Schlettwein said.
According to the finance head, leaders ought to be factual when making public statements and not to be opportunistic to mislead the public.
Tipeeg was introduced in 2011 to create temporary and permanent jobs, while also developing infrastructure for long-term growth.
The progamme has been widely criticised for creating mainly short-term jobs, despite its huge budget.
Official statics show that during its three-year lifespan, Tipeeg created 15 829 permanent jobs and over 87 000 temporary ones.
Tipeeg’s total budget outlay was N.dollars 14.7 billion.
“Out of the N.dollars 14.7 billion total allocation, N.dollars 13 billion was spent,” Schlettwein said, adding that the programme had an overall execution rate of 88,9 percent.
While acknowledging that government should have gotten better returns from the money it spent, Schlettwein went on to rubbish insinuations by Venaani that Tipeeg had no trickling effect on the local economy.
He indicated that during Tipeeg’s three years, Namibia’s economic growth averaged 5,6 percent, one of the highest in post-independent Namibia.
“This is significantly higher than the long-term rate of 3,9 percent since 1991,” he said.
In addition, Schlettwein noted that during the period in question, poverty levels dropped to 17 percent, from 28 percent.
“Such discernible progress cannot be termed as a failure, regrettable or anything to be apologetic about,” the minister stressed. – NAMPA