Land reform ministry returns N$109m to Treasury
The department of agriculture and land reform within the agriculture ministry returned N$109 million to the Treasury in 2023, funds that could have been used to finance other pressing national needs.
The information is contained in the report of auditor general (AG), Junias Kandjeke, into the financial statements of the department, covering the 20222023 financial year (FY).
The report was submitted to the National Assembly for scrutiny earlier this week.
“It was noted that the total budget for the department of agriculture and land reform was underspent with an amount of N$109.2 million (7.88%). This money could have been utilised for other projects in the country,” Kandjeke says in the report.
He recommended to executive director Ndiyakupi Nghituwamata that she put measures in place to avoid under-expenditure and ensure all planned programmes are implemented.
In her response, Nghituwamata indicated that the department took note of the recommendation and “will ensure that measures are in place to avoid under-expenditure and that all planning programmes are implemented timely. Such measures include capacitating the structure of the procurement unit to support the size of the ministry”.
This week, the ministry’s spokesperson, Jona Musheko, could not immediately explain why they returned monies to the Treasury in the face of a myriad of challenges confronting
Namibians, including those desperately in need of land.
Over the weekend, farmers invaded Farm Witsand in the Omaheke region, citing destitution and neglect.
Farm Witsand is located about 130 kilometres west of Gobabis.
It is one of the government-procured farms, earmarked for Namibians who are being repatriated from Botswana.
Prior to the invasion, the farm had been unoccupied for about four years.
During the 2021-2022 FY, the department underspent its budget by N$98 million. This means that over two consecutive FYs, the department returned N$207 million.
Furthermore, unauthorised expenditure was also observed at the department during the period under review.