The Ministry of Finance says it has finalised the Public Enterprises Governance Act's (PEGA) amendments.

The amendments to the PEGA are part of a broader reform to improve SOE governance by dissolving the centralised Ministry of Public Enterprises and decentralising oversight to sector ministries, while preserving strong governance standards and compliance obligations.

"So that the functions that were performed by the Ministry of Finance get decentralised to their respective relevant ministries. This process has advanced very well, and soon we are going to see the tabling of the amended PEGA in the parliament. The cabinet has already approved the bill, and it is just waiting for certification by the attorney general," said Minister Ericah Shafudah.

Shafudah, who was speaking at the Government Information Centre (GIC), noted the ministry will continue efforts to decongest public procurement to ensure the timely implementation of production investment. 

"There is a need for us to review the Public Procurement Act, be it in terms of the thresholds that we have or in the performance of the review panel or the procurement board and its function. The aim is to ensure that this procurement act really benefits and empowers the people. Countries are developed through procurement, and again, watch the space as our teams are on the ground consulting to carry out these amendments."

She also provided an update on the implementation of the Public-Private Partnership Act. 

"In terms of the PPP Act, that act is there, and we are trying by all means to capacitate ourselves to ensure that this act is implemented through examples because what we have observed is that we have not really had a project that is implemented through PPP arrangements, but we have put in place mechanisms to ensure that we also make use of PPP arrangements as a way to bring about development."

The Ministry is also exploring the integration of instant payment solutions for social grant beneficiaries. 

Shafudah explained that "as part of the reform in terms of the social grant management, we are working together with the Bank of Namibia, as they are introducing an instant payment solution, a platform that is geared towards advancing the technology in terms of managing social grants, among others."

She also added that the ministry will continue to monitor the country's debt to bring it to a sustainable level.