Government-funded vehicles earmarked for the private and official use of opposition leader McHenry Venaani are collecting dust at Parliament almost a year after their approval.

This is due to bureaucratic jams in the full operationalisation of the Office of the Official Opposition at the National Assembly (NA).

Nampa also understands there has been a tussle between Venaani, NA and the Public Office Bearers Commission over the appointment of Venaani’s bodyguard and driver.

The agency has it on good authority that Venaani was offered two police officers (a driver and bodyguard) but declined, insisting he must be allowed to pick a driver and bodyguard at his behest.

“That [getting police officers to drive and guard me] will never happen,” the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) leader said when approached for comment about two months ago.

On Wednesday, NA secretary Lydia Kandetu echoed these sentiments, saying: “There was no misunderstanding. Venaani wants his own people and we had to create the office of the official opposition, hence the delay.”

The NA has made a submission and expects a response from the Public Office Bearers Commission this week regarding Venaani’s situation, Kandetu said, adding that his self-appointed bodyguard and driver would have to get training before the handover takes place.

“They need to be trained by the police. These things cannot happen now. Things cannot just happen overnight. The personal assistant position has already been approved and she has worked for two months now,” Kandetu said.

In the interim, the NA avails its own drivers, should Venaani need the cars. These are drivers that Venaani knows and trusts for his own safety and privacy. But his personal driver and bodyguard do accompany him so that they can learn how the fuel logbooks and other procedures are done, Kandetu stated.

Last year, President Hage Geingob endorsed the establishment and formalisation of the Office of the Official Opposition in the NA which made incumbent Venaani eligible for Government-sponsored protection, a vehicle and a petrol card.

It was established in terms of Article 32 of the Constitution and benchmarked with other Commonwealth countries. The new office comes with a three-member structure, a personal assistant, bodyguard and driver.

Venaani is supposed to get either a sedan (Mercedes Benz) and a pick-up or SUV.

With Geingob’s endorsement came other perks such as Venaani’s salary which increased in 2019 from N.dollars 996 006 to around N.dollars 1.2 million annually as part of the plan to elevate the stature of the Office of the Official Opposition.

Reports of Venaani’s elevation and subsequent perks sparked mixed feelings after reports by local media suggesting that ministers and their deputies have for years enjoyed unfettered State-sponsored petrol cards for their fleets.

Venaani himself has been a staunch critic of large presidential convoys and ministerial vehicles.

He has, however, said the cost that comes with the Office of the Official Opposition is justified.

“It’s a necessary [financial] burden. It’s the only position occupied by the opposition in the legislature,” he told Nampa at the time.

Source: Namibia Press Agency