Nigeria

Coronavirus: Namibian president bans new cars for government officials till 2025

Friday, May 15, 2020 at 10:45 AM by Nurudeen Lawal

- President Hage Geingob of Namibia has stopped the purchase of new cars for government officials till 2025

- Geingob said the move will save the country 200 million Namibia dollars which will be directed to urgent priority areas

- The Namibian president also directed a cap on monthly fuel consumption by public officeholders

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The president of Namibia, Hage Geingob, says his government will not order a new fleet of vehicles for government officials till 2025.

President Geingob made this known in a statement he posted on Twitter on Thursday, May 14, noting that the decision is crucial as the country and the rest of the world brace up of economic effect of Covid-19.

He said through the decision the government will save 200 million Namibia dollars (about $10.8 million) which will be directed to urgent priority areas.

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The Namibian president also directed a cap on monthly fuel consumption by public officeholders.

“Government will not order a new vehicle fleet for the Executive and Public Office Bearers for the period 2020-2025,” the statement reads.

“Savings of 200 million Namibia dollars (about $10.8 million) will be directed to urgent priority areas.”

The statement also recalled how prudently the Geingob administration has been managing Namibia's resources.

“By constantly directing government offices, ministries and agencies to do more with less, major savings across the government system have been achieved over the past five years since Geingob.

“Government spending has been reduced by 9%, annual travel and subsistence allowances have been cut by 62%,” the statement adds.

According to the data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) African Region, Namibia has 16 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with no death.

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Legit.ng notes that the Namibian president's decision aligns with the position of Nigeria's former vice president Atiku Abubakar.

The former vice president advised President Muhammadu Buhari on the country's best way out of its present economic situation after slashing the budget by 0.6%.

Atiku in a series of tweets posted on his Twitter page on Thursday, May 14, stressed that reducing the nation's expenditure is the best way out of this economic situation.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2019 general election, further said that his counsel to the Nigerian government is to "put Nigerians first and cut your coat, not according to your size, but according to your cloth."

Atiku explained that the budget to run the presidency and legislature has to be downsized. This includes not buying luxury cars for the resident, his vice, or any other political office holder.