Govt too broke to cut jobs
Government is stuck between a rock and hard place – wanting to trim the bloated civil service and lacking resources required to effect this plan.
MATHIAS HAUFIKU
WINDHOEK
Government says it is not in a financial position to trim the bloated civil service, which would require substantial severance packages to attract early retirements.
An array of reforms proposed in 2016 by Cabinet to transform the service into a leaner and more cost-effective structure are yet to be fully implemented.
With over 100 000 public service employees, the public wage bill chews up more than a third of the country’s entire national budget.
In 2013, the International Monetary Fund expressed concern about the high number of people employed in the civil service.
Finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi last week said the trimming of the civil service is still on government’s radar, but not much can be done without the required financial resources.
“If you want people to go on early retirement, you must have money to pay them out. We need to find those funds,” he said.
‘Cumbersome’ system
Speaking during Namibian Sun’s Evening Review show last week, Shiimi said government is looking at ways to compensate civil servants aged between 55 and 60 to enable them to go on retirement without any penalties imposed on them.
He said government also tightened the screws on the filling of vacancies, adding that in some cases, posts that are not critical are made redundant.
“The changes we are working on are working, but the system is cumbersome,” he lamented.
The minister said spending money now to send people on early retirement will save government money in the long run.
“If you have to spend N$2 billion upfront to send people on early retirement knowing that their departure will save you N$2 billion annually going forward, I think it is a sensible thing to do,” he said.
Parked plans
Other plans proposed include reducing the early retirement age from 55 to 50 by making early retirement benefits more attractive.
Cabinet also pushed for a limit to be imposed on the creation of posts and to upgrade the human capital management system to make it impossible for ghost workers to sneak into the system; streamline and rationalise the multiplicity of bonuses and other allowances, and increase the objectivity on the wage determination process and future increases by aligning these to the prevailing inflation rate.
At the time, Cabinet said there would be functional reviews of each office, ministry and agency to determine staffing needs by focusing on their strategic positions in the context of developmental objectives.
WINDHOEK
Government says it is not in a financial position to trim the bloated civil service, which would require substantial severance packages to attract early retirements.
An array of reforms proposed in 2016 by Cabinet to transform the service into a leaner and more cost-effective structure are yet to be fully implemented.
With over 100 000 public service employees, the public wage bill chews up more than a third of the country’s entire national budget.
In 2013, the International Monetary Fund expressed concern about the high number of people employed in the civil service.
Finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi last week said the trimming of the civil service is still on government’s radar, but not much can be done without the required financial resources.
“If you want people to go on early retirement, you must have money to pay them out. We need to find those funds,” he said.
‘Cumbersome’ system
Speaking during Namibian Sun’s Evening Review show last week, Shiimi said government is looking at ways to compensate civil servants aged between 55 and 60 to enable them to go on retirement without any penalties imposed on them.
He said government also tightened the screws on the filling of vacancies, adding that in some cases, posts that are not critical are made redundant.
“The changes we are working on are working, but the system is cumbersome,” he lamented.
The minister said spending money now to send people on early retirement will save government money in the long run.
“If you have to spend N$2 billion upfront to send people on early retirement knowing that their departure will save you N$2 billion annually going forward, I think it is a sensible thing to do,” he said.
Parked plans
Other plans proposed include reducing the early retirement age from 55 to 50 by making early retirement benefits more attractive.
Cabinet also pushed for a limit to be imposed on the creation of posts and to upgrade the human capital management system to make it impossible for ghost workers to sneak into the system; streamline and rationalise the multiplicity of bonuses and other allowances, and increase the objectivity on the wage determination process and future increases by aligning these to the prevailing inflation rate.
At the time, Cabinet said there would be functional reviews of each office, ministry and agency to determine staffing needs by focusing on their strategic positions in the context of developmental objectives.
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