DIVISON OF GENERAL SERVICES

The Department Administration comprises of various divisions of which Auxiliary Services is but one. This division is responsible for a host of administrative and support services such as procurement, transport, office accommodation, stock control, etc that is being carried out by a staff component of more than 100 comprising of ,inter alia , Clerks, Private Secretaries, Cleaners, Drivers, Messengers and many other.

Procurement

The Division Auxiliary Services is responsible for the procurement of goods and services for the entire ministry, inclusive of all border posts. Procurement is regulated by the Tender Board Act and complemented by the Ministerial Economizing Committee. All purchases for goods and services in excess of N$10 000.00 are put on open tender for all interested to bid for the provision of the required goods and services. In terms of the Tender Board Act, the ministry may request exemption from formal tender procedures for the acquisition of goods and services that are being utilized in the normal run of business of the Ministry and for which goods and services it would not be practical to go out on formal tender. These goods and services include office stationery, air tickets, hotel accommodation, purchasing of fuel for official vehicles, etc.

Stock control

The Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprise has offices spanning the whole of Namibia , from Oshikango in the north to Ariamsvlei in the south. In order for the Ministry to do proper record keeping of all its assets, periodic stock taking exercises are being carried out at all offices of the Ministry. This entails the physical count of items, e.g. furniture, computer equipment, vehicles, that are allocated to a particular office and then afterwards reconciliation with existing registers.

Transport

The Ministry is operating its own transport fleet that currently consists of 146 vehicles. These vehicles are deployed all over Namibia and are used by customs officials at all border posts, taxation officials, training officials who conduct training at various stations throughout the country, stock control officials who are doing stock taking as well as giving training to other line Ministries, to name but a few of the activities that require reliable transport.

Office accommodation, maintenance and cleaning services

Auxiliary Services is the division that has to provide office accommodation to the officials of the Ministry. Office accommodation is a real challenge for the Ministry, especially in the capital Windhoek , as clusters of officials of the Ministry are scattered throughout the city in various office blocks that are rented from various property owners. The ideal situation would be to have all the officials of the Ministry under one roof, but due to expansion of the Ministry and its services, the current office buildings cannot cope with the number of employees of the Ministry. The responsibility of maintaining and cleaning of these office buildings resort with the Division Auxiliary Services. A component of approximately 35 cleaners is employed through out the country to keep the office of the Ministry in spic and span condition. General maintenance of office buildings is carried out by contractors that are on annual tender at the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication. The Ministry is constantly busy upgrading office accommodation facilities for the Ministry's staff at various stations in Namibia .

Telephone, registry and security services

No institution can operate without a proper communication system. To ensure that the Ministry stays in constant contact with all of its stations, especially some border posts that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the Ministry is constantly upgrading its telecommunication system. Hand in hand with an effective communication system, goes cost saving and the Ministry has embarked upon various ways of cutting the very high cost of telecommunication such as the use of PIN codes and credit limits for staff members. The Ministry is also in the process of linking all major centers to the Head Offices in Windhoek , a move that is expected to, once completed, bring down telecommunication cost considerably. Like all government offices, the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprise has a Registry Section where copies of all incoming and outgoing correspondence, circulars, Acts and Government gazettes are filed.The Ministry is currently engaging private security companies to take care of the security of all its office buildings. These security guards are complemented by electronic access control at the Head Office in Windhoek , both for people at the normal entrances as well as strict control on vehicle movement.

Capital projects

The Ministry has over the years been constantly busy upgrading and construction facilities both for office and residential purposes. In many parts of the country, the officials of the Ministry, especially those doing customs duty, did not have proper residential accommodation. In an attempt to address their plight, the Ministry has facilitate the construction of office and residential accommodation in places like Trans Kalahari Border Post, Ariamsvlei, Wenela, Walvis Bay, to name but a few. However, as the activities of the Ministry expand and trade links established with neighboring countries, the demand for both office and residential accommodation keeps on increasing and it remains a challenge to address this demand.