The story about President Hage Geingob saving N$200m when he suspended the purchase of cars for ministers and others was misunderstood. It is not about saving N$200m, but it about wasting it on cars under the circumstances.
Many people hailed this move because it appears as if this is a favour done on hapless people drowning under massive debt.
The media too took this news at face value and failed to dissect it properly and analytically.
Geingob did not decide not to buy new cars but was forced not to do so by circumstances. The fact of the matter is that there is just no money to go around with.
Already, the repayment amount for the Eurobond that was taken in 2011/12 is N$2 billion short after the money was used to payout the emergency income grants.
The decision was not by choice but duress. The decision was not by self-will but circumstantial.
If indeed Geingob was not forced to suspend buying cars this time around, then why not go further by taking away those fuel-guzzling Mercs and save more money that can be used to kickstart the economy?
It is on record that Geingob said ministers have the right to use their government-issued cars for anything because they pay tax for them.
To quote him: “The ministers have the right to use their cars as they are paying tax to the government and they can go anywhere except at bars. I have instructed them to go anywhere and they can even use their cars to take their children to school.”
But honestly speaking paying tax is not walking into any car dealership and buy a car. The cars are given even before the ministers have started paying taxes.
In any case, it is not about paying taxes but giving such expensive cars freely. We all pay tax, but we still have car loans.
If Geingob reasoning is anything to go by with, we would also be saying we need cars for free because we pay tax.
NOT SHOCKING
For most people, it is not shocking that the president admitted that they were spending N$200m every five years.
Of course, this sounds ridiculously small but considering the state of schools and hospitals in the country, one wonders how much this money could have done.
Think about the poor children in Kavango East and West right now who have no schools and then think about N$200m spent on cars that served individuals and their families.
Think about villagers who have no easy access to clinics either because the roads are in a poor state or non-existent and then think about N$200m spent on luxurious Mercedes Benz cars.
If once considers that in the past, the government never spent anything less than N$400m on vehicles, then one would be forgiven to say that the N$200m given is far from the real amount.
In 2015, for example, the government budgeted N$500m for vehicles, while in 2014 N$1 billion was spent on cars. In 2013, the government spent N$400m and N$420m in 2017.
According to the budget documents, the government will end up spending close to N$3 billion from 2013 to 2017 on vehicles. Around N$400 million was spent in 2013 and N$1 billion in 2014.
Around N$500 million had been budgeted for this year, N$400 million for next year, and N$420 million for 2017.
There is no doubt that when Covid-19m goes away and money starts flowing into government coffers again, more new cars will be bought.
And make no mistake about that.
*Wonder Guchu is the author of The Gods Sleep Through It All and other five books. He holds an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability from the University of Cumbria (UK). He is currently the Eagle FM station manager. These are his views.
