Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698748992068.pdf (Namibia)
REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA BUDGET STATEMENT FOR VOTE 01: OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, FINANCIAL YEAR 2018/2019 BY HON.

MARTIN ANDJABA, MINISTER OF PRESIDENTIAL AFFAIRS 10 APRIL 2018 WINDHOEK *Check Against Delivery 1 Honourable Speaker, is what I believe, It is a great honour for me to stand here today as the newest Member of this august house.
Following my appointment by His Excellency Dr. Hage G. Geingob, I was sworn in as Member of the National Assembly, barely two weeks ago, on 28 March and as Minister of Presidential Affairs on 6 April.

is referred to as hitting the ground running.

This, Honourable Speaker, I am ready to discharge my duties as Member of this House and as Minister of Presidential Affairs.
I wish to thank the Honourable Speaker for allowing me to table the budget of the Office of the President before I have delivered my Maiden Statement to this august Chamber.

This is a clear indication that this house is setting an example that efficiency in service delivery to the nation must always come first.

Thank you very much Honourable Speaker.


May I also take this opportunity to express my immense gratitude to His Excellency Dr. Hage Geingob for the honour he accorded to me to serve as a Lawmaker and a Member of his executive team.

I rise to table the budget estimates for Votel: Office of the President for the 2018/2019 Financial Year.
As it has been the case for the past three years, the budget estimates make provision for the following components in the Presidency, namely the Private Office of the President; Office of the Vice President; Directorate Former Presidents Support Services; Namibia Central Intelligence Service and the Departments responsible for Household and Administration; Executive Policy Services and Research; Marginalized the Minister of Communities Presidential Affairs is part of these components.
and Disability Affairs.

The office of the unit I wish to inform the House that while Veterans Affairs resorts under the is budgeted for under Vote 31, with a different Presidency, Accounting Officer.

This Vote is tabled and motivated separately.

I also wish to inform the House that, in order to promote greater efficiency and versatility, we have started to transfer the units responsible for marginalized communities and persons with disabilities under Vote 31 as from the next Financial Year.
I should also mention that the three units dealing with veterans' affairs, marginalized communities and disability issues resort directly under the Vice President, who is tasked to provide guidance and clear focus in the implementation of programmes and policies in these national priority areas.
2 The first Vice President of our Republic, Dr. Nickey Iyambo demonstrated his unwavering dedication to the well-being of our veterans over the years, and we have no doubt that the current Vice President, Dr. Nangolo Mbumba will continue to build on this strong foundation.
Honourable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, The 201812019 national budget was tabled against the backdrop of fiscal consolidation measures aimed at reducing public expenditure and focusing resources at targeted priority areas that will spur economic growth and job creation, especially among the youth.

As an office, we are committed to implementing our programmes, not only efficiently, but effectively within the allocated resource envelope in order to achieve our set goals and desired results.
We will, therefore, not relent in our efforts to ensure that we provide unsurpassed services of the highest quality and support to the Head of State to carry out his constitutional mandate of serving and leading this nation.

We will also continue to ensure that the units providing support services to Namibia's former Presidents to carry out their duties with utmost dedication at all times.

The Presidency is at the apex of our civil service and must, as a matter of course, lead by example.
My pledge as Minister of Presidential Affairs is that I aim to live by and inculcate this sense of mission during my tenure of duty.

It is a poignant moment for that, as the Order Paper shows, I am tabling this budget one day before His Excellency Dr. Geingob delivers the 2018 State of the Nation Address, during which he will report to the nation on the performance of Government during the passing Financial Year and set out policies for the new ensuing Financial Year.
It is in our own interest as a nation to adopt a can do attitude, to work with single-minded determination and commitment to achieve our stated goals.

This should be our national mindset, going forward.

Although the country faces economic headwinds, when we rally together, we shall weather the storm.

In this regard, I agree with the sentiment expressed by many leaders in our country that we must tighten our belts and be prepared to do more with less.
3 Despite the economic downturn, many Offices, Ministries and Agencies will report on notable achievements as they table their budgets in this house.

In many ways, this is driven by the strong leadership and vision provided by the Presidency as set out in the Harambee Prosperity Plan, with a focus and measurable and infrastructure development.

The resources allocated under Vote 1 enable us to carry out the necessary oversight roles and advisory services to the Head of State.
for poverty eradication, economic growth targets Honourable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, I will reference, follow the tabulation laid out For ease of in the Appropriation Bill in presenting the different Programmes under Vote 1.

The budget estimate for 2018/2019 Financial Year of the Office of the President is N$411,510,000 (Four Hundred and Eleven Million, Five Hundred and Ten Thousand).
the budget Financial Year, By way of comparison, allocation was N$608,535,000 (Six Hundred and Eight Million, Five Hundred and Thirty Five Thousand Namibia Dollars).

This represents a (One Hundred and Ninety Seven Million and decrease ofN$197,025,000-00 Twenty Five Thousand Namibia Dollars) or 32 percent in total, reflecting the depth of the cost cutting measures introduced by Government.
in the 2017/2018 Of the total allocation, N$375,519,000-00 (Three Hundred and Seventy Five Million, Five Hundred and Nineteen Thousand) is operational, while the remaining N$35,991,000-00 (Thirty Five Million Nine Hundred and Ninety One Thousand) is for the development budget.
These figures represent a decrease of N$86,939,000-00 (Eighty Six Million Nine Hundred and Thirty in the operational budget, and N$110,086,000-00 (One Nine Thousand) Hundred and Ten Million, Eighty Six Thousand Namibia Dollars) in the development budget as compared to the last Financial Year.

Let me now turn to the programmes under Votel: Office of the President.
Programme 1 - Supervision and Support Services There are two sub-programmes under this allocation, namely State Security Services with a total allocation of N$ 160, 623,000-00 (One Hundred and Sixty Million, Six hundred and Twenty Three Thousand).

4 This is further divided into N$124, 632,000-00 (One Hundred and Twenty Four Million, Six Hundred and Thirty Two Thousand) Operational and N$ 35, 991,000-00 (Thirty Five Million Nine Hundred and Ninety One Thousand) for the Development Budget.
is allocated a total amount of The Support Services N$63,177,000-00 (Sixty Three Million One Hundred and Seventy Seven Thousand Dollars), for operational purposes only.

sub-programme The Objectives of this Programme are as follows: • To support to act interest and uphold the dignity of the Office of the President.
the Executive Branch of Government in national • To ensure that the Namibian Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) detects and identifies threats or potential threats to the security of Namibia and thereby contribute to the maintenance of peace, security and stability in the country.
The main activities under the Programme include: Effective gathering of intelligence in order to detect threats to Namibia's constitutional and democratic order as well as sharing of intelligence with stakeholders and role players in order to protect interest of Namibia.

the national Other activities include carrying out executive assignments, providing for logistical and procurement requirements, capacity building, maintenance of infrastructure and improvement of public service delivery.
Programme 2: Marginalized Communities and People with Disabilities is also divided into two sub-programmes, This programme namely Marginalized Communities and Disability Affairs.

The former is allocated a total amount of N$65,807,000-00 (Sixty Five Million Eight Hundred and Seven Thousand) for operational purposes only, while the allocation for the latter is N$19,437,000-00 (Nineteen Million Four Hundred and Thirty Seven the Thousand), also for operational purposes.
impact of the cost reduction measures implemented this financial year in order to curb public expenditure.

These allocations reflect 5 While some services will be negatively affected by these measures, Government to remains beneficiaries in these priority areas.
committed providing strongly services to By any measure, this Programme has noble objectives, which are aimed at improving the living conditions of some of the most vulnerable communities in our society and integrate them into the broader Namibian house.

As the President has said, no one should feel left out.

Broadly, the objectives of the programme include the integration of the San, Ovatue and Ovatjimba communities and people with disabilities into the this mainstream economy.
programme that the education for young people from the San communities is catered for through the San Education Support Programme.

In terms of specific activities, is under it the enrolment of students Under this programme, beneficiaries are identified and the responsible unit in schools and tertiary education facilitates of institutions.

permanent school buildings and teachers houses at various settlement centres for the benefit of these communities.
the division coordinates the construction In addition, Resettlement and Relocation Many members of marginalized communities are disproportionately affected It is for this reason that access to land is a crucial and key by landlessness.

factor in integrating the affected communities.

In this regard, the Presidency has worked closely with the Ministry of Land Reform to allocate land to members of the San, Ovatue and Ovatjimba communities.
These efforts have already born fruit as hundreds of members from these communities have bene fitted from resettlement in both communal and commercial areas.

The following activities were undertaken under the resettlement program: • Post resettlement support continues to be provided to beneficiaries at support • targeted resettlement farms and villages.

These include support to agronomic and horticultural projects, as well as the supply of materials and equipment.
• Some members of the San communities at Oshivelo were relocated to Farm Ondera in Oshikoto Region.

6 • This has gone hand in hand with financial support to ensure sustainable production by not less than 50 workers at the farm.

Over N$I, 2 million has been spent on this activity in the last Financial Year.
• The Presidency works hand-in-hand with other Offices, Ministries and Agencies to provide essential services such as clean drinking water, health care and other post-resettlement services to San communities who are resettled.

In total, 20 houses are earmarked for construction at Corridor 17.

A three bedroom house has already been completed at a cost ofN$410,000.

Other sites have been earmarked for the relocation of San Communities in Otjinene, Epukiro and Eiseb areas.
The provision of coffins for the burial of members of San communities also continues.

In addition to these forms of support, income-generating projects including crop production, animal husbandry and nature conservation are being implemented to enhance sustainability, food security and reduce reliance on the supply of food by the government.
Disability Affairs and coordinate to the sub-programme Disability Affairs, the objective is to With respect strengthen and legal framework in relation to disability issues.

This includes the initiation of programmes that enable young children and youth with disabilities to access education, health and employment opportunities.
implementation of policies the Several activities are carried out under this sub-programme, such as: • Coordinating the implementation of the National Disability Council Act instruments related to disability as well as regional and international Issues, • Providing administrative support on the administration of the National Disability Council Act of 2004, • Providing support to Organizations of Persons with Disability, • Coordinating issues of inclusion, empowerment, disability mainstreaming and socio-economic integration, Improving access for persons with disability, and • • Promoting the "Whole of Government Approach" in the implementation of development programmes and projects.
7 Our aim is to ensure effective and efficient service delivery to people with disabilities, because we believe that disability is not inability and also because there is ability in disability.

Programme 3 - Protection of National Constitution The bedrock upon which our Republic was founded is the constitution.

Our "ninety (90) day miracle" is what sets Namibia apart as a country with one of the most progressive constitutions in the world.
It is for this reason that our constitution is worthy of protection at all cost by all of us.

Under this programme, the Office of the President is allocated an amount of N$80,858,000-00 (Eighty Million Eight Hundred and Fifty Eight Thousand) for operational purposes.

For the office of the Vice President, the allocation is N$9,155,000-00 (Nine Million, One Hundred and Fifty Five Thousand) also for operational purposes.
The main activities under this programme include: • Execution of executive functions, • Undertaking or hosting of State and Official Visits in order to strengthen and consolidate diplomatic relations with the international community, and • Promoting trade, investments and economic Development.

Programme 04: Democracy Consolidation and Promotion is, Namibia is a country governed on the basis of the rule of law.
therefore, imperative that we continue to promote and deepen democracy, good governance and peace and stability.

This is best achieved through the effective and ongoing consolidation of our democratic institutions and system of governance.

Programme 3 seeks to achieve exactly that.

An amount of N$13,098,000.00 (Thirteen Million and Ninety Eight Thousand) is allocated under this Programme as Operational Budget.
It for this programme are among others to ensure that the The objectives Offices of Namibia's Former Heads of State are properly maintained and provided with efficient and effective support services.

The main activities under the programme include but not limited to: • Serving as Members of the Presidential Advisory Council, 8 • Performance of ceremonial functions as per invitation from public and private sectors.
• Attending to official functions inside and outside Namibia, such as those assigned to our Elder Statesmen by SADC and the African Union, among others.

Yes, the fiscal consolidation presents challenges that we, as a country, must face and overcome.

Governing and providing leadership are by definition difficult propositions.
I am heartened, as we all should be, by the fact that the leadership of His Excellency Dr. Hage G. our Government, under Geingob has not shied away from taking the necessary tough decisions in the best feasible, President Geingob has traveled by commercial airlines and reduced delegation sizes for missions abroad in order to cut costs.

interest of our country.


Whenever The cost cutting measures are evident not only in this Appropriation Bill and those that precede it, but also in other areas of governance including combating corruption and promoting transparency and accountability.

Our country is the better for it.

Having said that Honourable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, I thank you most sincerely once again, for allowing me to table the 2018/2019 budget for the Office of the President.
Going forward, I look forward to working together with all members in this house to achieve our national goals.

I also commit myself as lawmaker, to do all within my power to serve I now call upon all the people of Namibia to the best of my ability.

members of the House to support the 2018/2019 budget allocation for Vote 1: Office of the President.

I thank you.