Staff Reporter
The Office of the Prime Minister has directed all executive directors, accounting officers, and Chief Regional Officers to ensure that all public service staff members elected to the National Assembly resign from their positions on the day they are officially announced as elected.
This was announced by Dr. George Simataa, the Secretary to the Cabinet, who explained that this is outlined in the provisions of Section 30(3)(a) of the Public Service Act (13 of 1995).
“Section 30 (3) (a) of the Public Service Act, 1995 (Act No. 13 of 1995), provides that ‘a staff member eligible for candidature as President or as a member of the National Assembly referred to in Article 44 of the Namibian Constitution or of a regional council as defined in section 1 of the Regional Councils Act, 1992 (Act 22 of 1992), may accept nomination as candidate for election as President or as a member of the National Assembly or of a regional council, as the case may be, but shall, if he or she is elected as President or as any such member, be deemed to have resigned from the Public Service with effect from the date on which he or she is so elected’,” he explained.
Simataa further referred to Section 77(4) of the Electoral Amendment Act (2024), which stipulates that if a nominated candidate for the National Assembly meets the eligibility criteria outlined in Articles 17(2) and 46(1)(a) of the Namibian Constitution, they must take leave from their job starting from the publication of their name on the party list until the election results are announced.
This section of the Electoral Amendment Act, Simataa highlighted, further stipulates that if the public servant accepts the nomination but does not take leave, they will be considered to be on leave for that period, and if they are elected to the National Assembly, they will be deemed to have resigned from their public service job, effective from the announcement of the election results.
He therefore advised that any remuneration paid to such a person after the relevant dates should be recovered.
“All Executive Directors, Accounting Officers and Chief Regional Officers are directed to ensure that public staff members in the November 2024 National Assembly elections resign from their positions effective the day they are officially announced as elected. It is advised that all overpayments made to date should be recovered through deductions from the staff members’ leave days or pension, as appropriate,” Simataa urged.
