Eba Kandovazu
MINISTER of State-owned Enterprises (SOEs), Leon Jooste, says he will still be in this position for the next two to three months until the reintegration of the ministry into a department within the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is concluded.
Jooste is not concerned about whether or not he will be redeployed at the moment, saying his focus is fully on the transition process for now. “I remain a member of Cabinet until the process is concluded, probably two to three months,” he adds. “Everything is going according to plan. We’ll be attending the MoF’s Strategic Planning session next week to incorporate the Ministry of Public Enterprises strategy,” Jooste informs.
He announced last November that the High Level Panel on the Namibian Economy’s recommendation to dissolve the ministry was endorsed by President Hage Geingob. “Experience has shown that most of the issues encountered at Public Enterprises that warrants the intervention of the shareholder, inevitably have a financial implication. These matters consequently require the consistent attention of the Minister of Finance, and many times end up on the agenda of the Cabinet Committee on Treasury. It is therefore obvious that it is in the interest of the Minister of Finance to always be acutely aware of the status of the Public Enterprises,”Jooste said at the time.
The Acting Executive Director in the ministry, Ndiitah Nghipondoka-Robiati, explains that the meeting will also be attended by stakeholders in the Office of the Prime Minister, office of the President and the Attorney General.
“We have had a subsequent meeting after the announcement of the reintegration but it wasn’t attended by all stakeholders as some were on holiday. This meeting will cover the processes we need to undertake for the transition to take place. The country is regulated by rules and procedures so we just need to make sure that everything is covered. All of us need to come together and make sure that correct procedures are met,” Nghipondoka-Robiati stresses.
Also serving as Deputy Executive Director in the trade Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, adds that she is not worried about job losses as a result of the transition.
