Gibeon’s N$3 000 was ‘to keep account open’
Urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni has defended N$3 000 given to the Gibeon village council recently, saying it was "to keep the account open" and was not for "operational costs".
A few months ago, the ministry availed N$3 000 for supposed developmental purposes - according to village council chairperson Sharon Bezuidenhout - however, Uutoni has defended the move, saying it was solely for the continued activation of the council's bank account.
Following revelations in August that Gibeon only received N$3 000, Namibian Sun yesterday sought an update from Uutoni on whether this has been rectified.
The minister said the council failed to submit a list of projects for the next financial year, and thus did not receive any money for development.
"N$3 000 is not an allocation. Each local authority has an account where money for projects is deposited upon submission. If there's no project at the moment, you don't want the account to close due to inactivity. By putting a little money into the account frequently, you ensure that the account stays open,” he said.
“Going back and forth to the National Planning Commission for the reopening of an account is a long process, which we are trying to avoid."
Slap in the face
Namibian Sun understands that during the 2021/2022 financial year, the ministry availed an amount of N$2 million to Gibeon, of which just over N$52 000 was used for the village.
Bezuidenhout told Namibian Sun that the ministry’s actions felt like a "slap in the face" and that the council would need at least N$10 million to complete a sewerage system the village needs "desperately".
"There's no need to give someone a mere N$3 000 to keep an account open. On the contrary, the account is bound to incur more bank charges this way. Now you [the minister] want to ration us with N$3 000. They can try to defend it as much as they want, but it does not make any sense,” she said.
“There was no communication as to whether there is another amount that will be availed for further projects. This is all we got.”
Bezuidenhout added: “We were greedy during the mid-term review when we submitted an N$10 million budget for the year, hoping that we would get at least N$5 million”.
Annually, Gibeon gets N$2 million for development and operational costs, but received N$300 000 from the National Planning Commission and a further N$500 000 from the urban and rural development ministry for the 2022/2023 financial year, she said.
A few months ago, the ministry availed N$3 000 for supposed developmental purposes - according to village council chairperson Sharon Bezuidenhout - however, Uutoni has defended the move, saying it was solely for the continued activation of the council's bank account.
Following revelations in August that Gibeon only received N$3 000, Namibian Sun yesterday sought an update from Uutoni on whether this has been rectified.
The minister said the council failed to submit a list of projects for the next financial year, and thus did not receive any money for development.
"N$3 000 is not an allocation. Each local authority has an account where money for projects is deposited upon submission. If there's no project at the moment, you don't want the account to close due to inactivity. By putting a little money into the account frequently, you ensure that the account stays open,” he said.
“Going back and forth to the National Planning Commission for the reopening of an account is a long process, which we are trying to avoid."
Slap in the face
Namibian Sun understands that during the 2021/2022 financial year, the ministry availed an amount of N$2 million to Gibeon, of which just over N$52 000 was used for the village.
Bezuidenhout told Namibian Sun that the ministry’s actions felt like a "slap in the face" and that the council would need at least N$10 million to complete a sewerage system the village needs "desperately".
"There's no need to give someone a mere N$3 000 to keep an account open. On the contrary, the account is bound to incur more bank charges this way. Now you [the minister] want to ration us with N$3 000. They can try to defend it as much as they want, but it does not make any sense,” she said.
“There was no communication as to whether there is another amount that will be availed for further projects. This is all we got.”
Bezuidenhout added: “We were greedy during the mid-term review when we submitted an N$10 million budget for the year, hoping that we would get at least N$5 million”.
Annually, Gibeon gets N$2 million for development and operational costs, but received N$300 000 from the National Planning Commission and a further N$500 000 from the urban and rural development ministry for the 2022/2023 financial year, she said.
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