Namibia govt heads towards budget crunch

saw as too paltry, a local daily reported yesterday.
The government, Namibia’s biggest employer, offered workers a US$844 million Namibian dollar (US$125,3 million) pay hike, saying other programmes including welfare spending in the semi-arid state would suffer if it further increased the wage bill, the Namibian newspaper said.
Union leaders representing court clerks, police, health workers, immigration and customs officials and other state workers said the offer was “a lot lower” than expected, the paper reported, citing negotiation sources.
Union leaders and government officials were not immediately available for comment.
The country, with a population of two million, has an official unemployment rate of about 52 percent.
There are about 88 000 now on the government’s payroll and that is expected to grow to 95 500 by the end of this year. Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila raised eyebrows three weeks ago when she announced the pay hike, which was not in the state budget tabled in March.
The move would raise the government’s wage bill from 10,3 Namibian dollars to N$11,1 billion, which would be nearly one-third of all state spending in 2011/12.
The dispute does not directly affect any private industries. Namibia is one of the world’s largest diamond producers with massive uranium deposits. Foreign firms are also exploring for gold, lead, zinc and iron ore. – Reuters.