Parastatal salary task force could miss ‘real problem’

Former finance minister Calle Schlettwein has warned that a new task force reviewing state-owned enterprise salaries will fail without strict implementation and broader structural reforms.

He says this exercise previously failed due to poor implementation and SOEs regrading themselves after changes were made.

Prime minister Elijah Ngurare last week appointed an 11-member task force to spend three months reviewing salary structures, board remuneration and executive recruitment across public enterprises.

Schlettwein, who served from 2015 to 2020 when SOEs resorted under his ministry, says the government has in the past attempted to review SOE salaries.

“We tried to limit salaries by creating categories for SOEs, with maximum salary levels for each category. But that system also failed because SOEs managed to regrade themselves and always strived for the top category,” he told The Namibian yesterday.

Schlettwein said a commission, chaired by former fisheries minister Helmut Angula, recommended that SOE chief executives not earn more than permanent secretaries (now executive directors).

“It was approved but never implemented. Shortly afterwards, salaries well above that level were approved,” he said.

He warned that recommendations alone would not change anything.