Drought stops Namibia from filling 15,000 civil service posts
Xinhua, August 12, 2016 Adjust font size:
The government of Namibia will not be employing more people in the civil service to save money for drought relief.
This means that more than 15,000 vacant post will not be filled until further notice.
The ban of appointments in the civil service were announced by the finance minister Calle Schlettwein in a circular sent out to all ministries and government departments early Aug.
Schlettwein confirmed the ban Thursday.
Apart from freezing posts, Namibia has also streamlined payment of goods and services through the finance ministry.
Schlettwein said all ministries now have to request funds from the ministry every month and explain what they want to use the money for.
"It is a tough year and we need to match what we spend with our budget," he said.
More than 700,000 Namibians need drought relief, among them, 500,000 are in urgent need.
The government declared a state of emergency in June.
Prime Minister Saara Kuungogelwa-Amadhila is on record saying that Namibia needs about 600 million Namibian dollars (about 45 million U.S dollars) for drought relief until March 2017 when the new budget will be formulated. Enditem