Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698754077067.pdf (Namibia)
APPROPRIATION BILL 2017/2018 BY HON TO MURORUA UOF (MP) Thank you very much Han Speaker for giving the change to air my views with regards to the 2017/2018 Appropriate Bill.

I would also like to thank the Minister of Finance Calle Sclettwein for presenting the budget.

Han Speaker, the projections as set out and clarified by the Han Minister of Finance looks positive but one is asking yourself whether, the same type of unprocedural budget cuts are not going take place again this year.
For me such type of operations by the Minister of Finance, without even having the decency to table such proposed budget cuts in this House is very much disturbing and I therefore humbly request that this August House also to be informed to officiate such budget cuts in the future.

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Hon Speaker, the Minister of Finance in his budget statement says that this budget will allocate additional targeted funding to Offices/Ministries/Agencies to ensure the delivery of frontline services and investment in productive public infrastructure and align public spending to key national priorities.

Now Hon Speaker, It is my humble believe that poverty eradication is of the most important priorities that government wants to address.
I fail to understand why our government does not perhaps see the manufacturing of renewable energy development equipments as a priority and target specifically the production of such equipments ego solar panels in Namibia and train poor unemployed Namibian youth to start such an intervention to create employment for the poor and in the same vain invest in a productive public infrastructure priority development area, which has a very great potential in our Country.
Hon Speaker, one of the other things that I regard as a frontline public service is the provision of water.

I know that our government is aware of the fact that the proposed construction of the Sebraskop-dam in the Ugabriver has already been planned in the 1970's and feasibilities studies were also done.

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Han Speaker, we need to start by preparing ourselves for the future to deliver this frontline public service to the citizens of this Country and also establish a green-scheme project as an addition to it and so address the food insecurity aspect which is also another frontline service to be provided.
It is my humble opinion Hon Speaker, that by doing so we will be aligning our governments interventions to the Harambee Prosperity Plan and make the impact where it matters for the Namibian people on the grassroots level.

This project in itself will also create self-employment for our citizens and address the so much talked about promotion of wealth creation and shared prosperity.
Hon Speaker, Han Members, the appeal of the Hon Minister of Finance to accounting officers to refrain from actions that are not complaint with the state Finance Act, the respective Appropriation Acts, the Tender Board Act or any other applicable law and that if an Accounting officer who would not adhere to the dictates of the law, the consequences can be very serious, is raising eyebrows and makes me to wonder whether the staff performance agreements that were signed first by such accounting officers are of any meaning at all for us as government leaders who are coming up with such 4. policies and the citizens who are receiving government services via these accounting officers as heads of Offices, Ministries and Agencies.
On the Medium-Term Economic outlook, we as citizens would like to see the robust Growth in the tourism subsector to be driven under NEEEF in such a way to benefit the people in the tourist attraction areas to became co-owners of such tourist establishments instead of benefiting only through conservancies and just being employees who are being left at the mercy of the foreign or non-resident owners.
Hon Speaker, Hon Members, on the same issue of the Medium-Term Economic Outlook it is mentioned that about 2,4 billion is allocated to various Offices, Ministries and Agencies to support continuous provision of basic services to the public as well for productive investment in the economy.

The big question here, Hon Speaker is, how this 2,4billion is evenly spread over the 14 Regions to stimulate productive investment in the economies of the various regions of Namibia.
I am stating this because the Hon Minister of Finance himself has quoted Ha-Joon Chang, in The 23 Things They don't Tell You about Capitalism "The best way to boost the economy is to redistribute wealth downward, as poorer people tend to spend a higher proportion of their income" 5.
Hon Speaker, I believe the wealth mentioned here are financial resources for development and seeing that our people in the regions further away from urban areas are in reality the poorer ones and would therefore appreciate if we as government would indeed start to implement such practices that benefits the poor instead of creating social safety nets without involving them directly or indirectly in projects of their own developments and their Country.
With these few words I support the Appropriate Bill and would also thank the Hon Minister of Finance once again.

I THANK YOU