State House dismisses “Presidential spending spree” allegations

WINDHOEK, Sept. 26 – The Permanent Secretary to the Namibian Presidency, Samuel Hendrik /Gôagoseb has moved swiftly to dismiss a “Presidential spending spree,” insisting that there was no foul play as expenditure was budgeted for and approved by Parliament. Following reports by a daily newspaper that a “Presidential spending spree” had been audited, the Permanent Secretary indicated that it was mis-informative if not misunderstood.

/Gôagoseb stated that over the years, the Office of the President had always received an unqualified audit opinion by the Auditor General, translating into the utilisation of resources allocated through the Appropriation Act, in a proper manner and for purposes that funds were intended.

“It further means that there were no irregularities in the manner that the Office of the President handled the financial resources allocated to it,” he added.

With regards to spending the amount of N$1.6 billion, he explained that the amount was budgeted over a period of three years, covering the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and that the bulk of it was allocated to national security infrastructure and not spent at State House.

He alluded to the Programme Security Management and Support System saying: “It caters for ensuring national security through the operations of the Namibian Central Intelligence Service (NCIS.)”

The main objective of the programme is to ensure that the NCIS detects and identifies threats or potential threats to the security of the country, according to the PS, and: “It has nothing to do with the staff accompanying the Presidency as stated in the newspaper.”

In addition, he stated that the swearing in of President Geingob ushered in a transitional period, and that the aligning of a multitude of plans were not finalised in time hence the lack of their submission.

“As a result of the transition and the imperative of aligning the Strategic Plan, Annual Plan and other planning tools with the Harambee Prosperity Plan, which was being prepared at the time, as well as the Fifth National Development Plan (NDP5), which was due to be launched, annual plans were thus in preparation but not finalised in time,” said /Gôagoseb. – NDN Staffer