President Geingob defends international travel

President Hage Geingob has called on the media to concentrate their reporting on important issues instead of trivial ones like the travel allowance of politicians.

During his annual press briefing at State House on Monday, Geingob digressed from his prepared speech to address the media criticism of his and his ministers’ traveling, reportedly to benefit from travel and subsistence allowances (S&Ts).

“You see how I am standing here, because I am not feeling well,” the president told the audience, including cabinet ministers and the media, about him standing and leaning on the podium.

“Now you tell me I want to travel and that I enjoy sitting on that plane—at my age. I have been traveling since 1966.”
The president said international travel is not motivated by money, but it is part of his mandate to serve the Namibian nation.

“I am doing it because I have to do it. Clearly, what is S&T to me? Some of you don’t know me. I have been working in places that pay money. When I went to the World Bank, I was paid money, and I resigned to come back,” Geingob said. “So it is not a question of money, please. Greed is not what motivates us, we are trying to serve, truly speaking.”

He also addressed the recent media report of multimillion-dollar luxury vehicles that the government bought for Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and her deputy, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

“These attacks on ministers, cars—what is a car? It is a means that you use to deliver. You reduce things to cars and traveling – no, please,” said the Head of State.

During the end-of-year press briefing, President Geingob gave an account of the progress his administration made during this year, including his international travels.

He spoke of his state visit to South Africa in April, which he said sought to further strengthen the existing bilateral relations between the two countries.

“In addition to bilateral discussions on issues such as the Orange River border question, we discussed regional, continental, and international issues of mutual concern.

“The state visit afforded Namibia and South Africa an opportunity to strengthen bilateral cooperation, enhance economic cooperation, explore trade and investment, and also identify new areas of cooperation in the fields of green hydrogen, including the oil and gas sectors,” he said.

(NAMPA)
AT/HP/AS

(NAMPA)