President, Prime Minister’s office  gets N$50 million  each in budget top up

TIRI MASAWI

Namibian tax payers will pay N$100 million in additional budget funds to both the office of the President and the Prime Minister’s Office this financial year ending March 2026.

Minister of Finance Erica Shafudah yesterday told Parliament that the treasury has allocated N$50 million each to the Office of the President and the Prime Minister’s Office.

“An additional N$50 million to Vote: President to cater for personnel expenditure and related goods and services for the oil and gas unit, security equipment, and maintenance.

 “The replenishment of the National Emergency Disaster Fund under the Office of the Prime Minister is recommended to receive an additional N$50 million to cater for the increased turnout of beneficiaries in the concluded drought relief programme,”Shafudah said.

The additional cost came at a time when President Neumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has made her intentions known to have well set up office under her armpits to deal with the  oil and gas industry.

Earlier on the President made it clear that she is keen to have the new industry benefit every Namibia.

Early in her tenure this year, the President  appointed two special upstream advisors within the presidency.

The two  Kornelia Shilunga and Carlo McLeod were  appointed special advisor and head of the presidency’s upstream petroleum unit (UPU).

Shilunga and McLeod, said the statement, have “vast policy and industry experience” and are expected to establish the UPU in the presidency, review the existing regulatory framework and propose policies for the governance of the petroleum industry, including the effective and efficient management of the upstream petroleum sector.

Shilunga was a member of the National Assembly from 2015 to March 2025 and served as deputy minister of mines and energy during the same period, reporting to Tom Alweendo.

McLeoad served as the deputy general manager at Chevron Namibia from 2023 to 2025 and also served as deputy director at the Petroleum Affairs Directorate in the Ministry of Mines & Energy between 2015 to 2023.