Public Policy; Analysis of Performance Agreements for Namibian (Select Ministers) - 2016

1. GROUP 3- AN ANALYSIS OF MINISTERS’ PERFORMANCE
AGREEMENTS
MatheusTaapopi – 201406567 Goli Banda – 20140929
Hillary Muyunda – 201404563 Shamyn Louw – 201410510
Public Policy 10 March 2016

2. INTRODUCTION
Namibia like many other African countries faces various barriers to economic, social and
technological development. We do however recognise and appreciate the efforts of His
Excellency, President Hage Geingob, for his visionary and transformational leadership for
putting in place standards in his government in form of performance agreements for his
executives.
In this context, performance agreements are negotiations that are typically binding
arrangements between the president and his actors for a course of action.These agreements
are a method of expectations and accountability for meeting a set standard of duties .
Be that as it may, “the public sector needs capable, ethical and dynamic leaders who will
engage their creativity and tap into the potential capabilities of the workforce to build a high
performance culture focused on delivering efficient and effective services to the citizens.” –
NSW Public Service Commission.

3. PRIME MINISTER: MRS. SAARA KUUGONGELWA-
AMADHILA

4. PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT: PRIME MINISTER
Make sure that compliance with the affirmative action act is increased by 80% and
that there is improvement in the recruitment process.
 Affirmative action measures designed to ensure that persons in designated groups enjoy
equal employment opportunities at all levels of employment and are equitably represented
in the workforce of a relevant employer (Sifani, 2009).
Have about 9300 public servants trained through institutions such as NIPAM, thereby
enhancing efficiency and service delivery.
NIPAM’s mandate is to provide administration and management training, instilling a Namibian Public
Sector culture, co-ordinating, partnership building, operational research, capacity evaluation and to
serve as a think tank in the Public Sector [NIPAM Act 2010 (Act 10 of 2010, Section 5)].

5. PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT: PRIME MINISTER
 The natural disaster risk management plan will be reviewed and a strategy will be developed to
reduce the impact of disasters.
Advantages:
1. Through the affirmative action an equitable environment is provided through which the
disadvantaged in society remain optimistic to be a part and parcel of their citizenry
county and pursue opportunities that the government provides.
2. The office of the prime minister in conjunction with NIPAM has a goal to have about 9300
public servants trained this will enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and service delivery
in the public sector.
3. The natural disaster plan insures the safety of the people and eradicating the impacts is
mainly to prevent disasters from negatively affecting the running of the economy.

6.  Disadvantages:
1. Natural disasters are unpredictable and
costly which bring about the usage of
money set for other projects.
2. The goal of everyone being equal is lost
with affirmative action because the
minority groups now have special
privileges.
3. Time consuming
PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT: PRIME MINISTER

7. MINISTER OF ECONOMIC PLANNING:TOM
ALWEENDO
Performance Agreement:
1. Plan, prioritize and direct the course of natural development, by coming up with more
adequate strategic plans.
2. Improve understanding of national development programs by advocating for more
strategic mechanisms in order to attain a better standard of living and better economic
growth.
3. Ensure the implementation of government programs, by effectively coordinating the
National Statistical system, collect and analyze quality statistical information required for
evidence based policy, planning and decision making.
4. Improve the effectiveness of the implementation of government plans and programs, by
planning, managing and monitoring government‘s capital investment programs as well as
guide the formulation and revision of policy.

8. MINISTER OF ECONOMIC PLANNING:TOM
ALWEENDO
 Encourage continued public engagement on national development, by implementing
programs or organizations that assist small entrepreneurs to start up a business, by providing
them with subsidies or short term and as well as programs that educate people on efficient
ways to improve their standard of living.
Advantages:
1. Sustained economic growth
2. Employment creation
3. Reduction in poverty
4. Increased income equality
5. Good standard of living

9. MINISTER OF ECONOMIC PLANNING:TOM
ALWEENDO
Disadvantages:
 Economic development is all about implementing efficient strategic plans; therefore there are
challenges that hinder those objectives from been achieved, such as:
1. High cost finances, for all those objectives to be to be attained, there should be money spent, and
every program that is implemented requires a huge budget.
2. Lack of flexibility in the labor market .Some of the people have a very low self-efficacy, they have
an inability to adapt to a change, and therefore it will take quite a while to attain to such a
situation.
3. Time consuming, coming up with efficient strategic plans is an extremely time consuming process,
a large amount of time is spent in order in order to attain a well-developed structure.

10. MINISTER OF ECONOMIC PLANNING AND
DIRECTOR OF N.P.C: MR.TOM ALWEENDO

11. PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT: MINISTER OF
FINANCE
 Performance Agreements
 Ensure than an annual target of total debt of not more than 32% of Gross
Domestic Product is achieved, thus maintaining economic stability
 Improve foreign reserves by ensuring an annual target of three months import
cover.
 Improve GDP growth rates by 5.5% and have a consistently low inflation rate of
less than 10% in order to give room for rising economic growth.

12. PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT: MINISTER OF
FINANCE
Advantages:
1. Decreased dependency on creditors
2. Lower costs of debt due to higher credit
rating.
3. Government saves money .
4. High economic growths.
5. Inflation expectations will be low.
Disadvantages:
1. Lower economic growth.
2. Decrease in cash flow

13. MINISTER OF FINANCE: CALLE SCHLETTWEIN

14. HIGHER EDUCATION MINISTER: DR. ITAH KANDJII-
MURANGI
Put in place aggressive measures for Namibian vocational and technical higher
education institutions to produce technical and high level skilled human resources to
drive the economy.
Advantages:
1. Building a strong primary sector is one of the best strategies to drive an economy
2. Higher technical and higher HR skills engenders entrepreneurship, thus trigger creation
of new industries, increase employment rate, increase productivity, in the long run high
economic growth will be achieved and improved living standard

15. HIGHER EDUCATION MINISTER: DR. ITAH
KANDJII-MURANGI
Disadvantages:
1. Limited public sector budget constraints the ability of government to
provide adequate and stable funding to public sector training institutions
2. Training system is largely underfinanced, provision for technical vocational
skills are expensive, since facilities, material, equipment and maintenance
costs are high
3. Wont be attainable in one year, since it calls for structural institutional
transformation

16. HIGHER EDUCATION MINISTER: DR. ITAH KANDJII-
MURANGI

17. HIGHER EDUCATION MINISTER: DR. ITAH KANDJII-
MURANGI
(PA, 2) Develop a national innovation system to produce scientific technological and
social innovations as well an innovative processes that will drive economic growth.
National Innovation System, is a set of distinct institutions which jointly and individually
contribute to the development and diffusion of new technologies and which provides the
framework within which governments form and implement policies to influence the
innovation process. As such it is a system of interconnected institutions to create, store and
transfer the knowledge, skills and artefacts which define new technologies” (Metcalfe, 1995)
Put simply it’s a network of institutions in the public- and private-sectors whose activities and
interactions initiate, import, modify and diffuse new technologies

18. HIGHER EDUCATION MINISTER: DR. ITAH KANDJII-
MURANGI
 Advantages:
1. Key development lies in closing the gap of technology
2. Promotion of national innovation system is required for long term industrial
and economic development
 Disadvantages:
1. The acquisition and implementation of technological capabilities, however
involves heavy investment in technology and social infrastructure
2. Innovations in low and medium technology sectors are more attainable than
those in a whole technology system

19. HIGHER EDUCATION MINISTER: DR. ITAH KANDJII-
MURANGI
 Disadvantages continued….
3. Product innovations are more important that process innovations because of
the effect on the product structure

20. EDUCATION MINISTER: KATRINA HANSE-HIMARWA
Performance Agreement
• Reduce the dropout rate of pupils at schools by 1% a year and also ensure that there is
an improvement in completion rates.
• Increase enrolment rates of children at pre-primary level thereby improving readiness
of learners for primary schools by 95%.
• Ensure adequate funding for construction and rehabilitation and equipping of
education facilities by 55%.
• Complete 10 capital projects in a year while also similarly increasing the number of
classrooms by 280.

22. EDUCATION MINISTER: KATRINA HANSE-HIMARWA
Learners and students in general report a variety of reasons for dropping out of school therefore the solutions
are multi-dimensional.
Advantages:
1. Improvement of the education system
2. More schools to be build, furnished and equipped with furniture and general equipment
3. School and community collaboration
4. Early interventions/ early literacy development
5. Active learning and educational technology
Disadvantages:
1. Time consuming, such a progressive plan wont be attainable in one year
2. Costly

23. CONCLUSION
In finding, we have come to understand and highlight that the performance agreements of
the respective minister as intended policies and programs they wish to undertake in a year.
So far we have come to understand that the policies that the ministers intend to undertake
relate to the characteristics of public policy in that they serve to distribute and redistribute
wealth and social services.They also serve to regulate the limitations, behaviours and
further promote as well as protect organisations and individuals.
The policies to be undertaken and implemented by the government also aim to redress the
imbalances challenging the nation.They further aim to address the demands and concerns
of the Namibian community.

24. REFERENCES
 Directorate Disaster Risk Management. (2011). National Disaster Risk Management Plan. p-10.
Windhoek, Namibia.
 Metcalfe, J. S. (1995). "Technology Systems andTechnology Policy in an Evolutionary
Framework," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 25-46.
 Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management. (2016). NIPMA’s Mandate. Retrieved
from: http:// http://www.nipam.mdi.na
 NSW Public Service Commission. (2013). Guide to performance agreements for the Senior
Executive Service. New South Wales Government, Australia.
 Sifani, JN. (2009). The impact of Namibia's affirmative action policy on employment of the
designated groups (A thesis for the Degree of Master of Science in Economics). University of
Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia. Retrieved from: http://www.isis.unam.na/theses/sifani2009.pdf