The Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises is set to disburse approximately N$500 million in back-pay to civil servants on 22 December, covering housing and transportation allowances.
The back-pay is from April to December for staff members below management, while housing allowance for management will only be calculated from October to December.
“I can confirm that the notice is true such back-dated payment will be made for all civil servants on Friday, except the housing bonds above the previous maximum qualifying amount of N$792,000 which will be implemented through respective human resources and salary offices for various offices, ministries and agencies,” Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises Executive Director Titus Ndove confirmed to The Brief.
This comes after the Government negotiating team, the Namibia Public Workers Union (NAPWU) and the National Teachers Union (NANTU) signed a remuneration increment agreement in mid-November which saw civil servants falling in salary Grades 1 to 13 get 5% for 2023-2024 financial year.
Employees with Grade 14 and 15 salary brackets receive a flat N$600 salary increment.
It was further agreed that the government will have to fork out an additional N$1.7 billion for the 2024-2025 financial year to cover salaries and benefits for the 2024-2025 financial year.
Currently, Namibia has about 107,000 public servants, inclusive of the security cluster, of which the total expenditure on public servants stands at above N$30 billion.
Last year the government avoided a national shutdown of civil servants following protracted negotiations in which it found itself increasing its offer from the initial N$334 million to over N$924 million in remuneration and benefits.
That amount was broken down to a 3% basic salary increment across the board, a housing allowance for civil servants below management by 11% and a transport allowance of 14%.
