Public Service Commission explains ECN top job
There are no legally stipulated age limits for the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN) chief electoral officer job, nor is the position subject to any rules civil servants have to abide to, as set by the Public Service Commission (PSC).
This follows the announcement of the shortlisted candidates in the press this week.
Weighing into the topic, PSC chairperson Salmaan Jacobs said the ECN was not subject to labour regulations guiding other offices, ministries and agencies.
“The ECN is an authority, part of public enterprises, run by its own board of directors or commissioners. They do not fall under the mandate of the Public Service Commission Act,” he said.
The appointment of the chief electoral officer was also done apart from the guidelines as stipulated by the PSC and its guiding acts, Jacobs explained.
“The recruitment process is different from what the Act says. There is a difference, and we should keep that in mind."
Low interest
News broke this week that all five of the shortlisted candidates are men.
Ahead of planned interviews - scheduled for 30 June - where the candidates will be put through a public interview process, ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua said the commission is disappointed in the low interest women showed the position.
“We received 12 applications in total. The one woman who did apply did not qualify. We would have loved to have more women applying for the position, but we do not know why they didn’t apply,” she said.
The ECN will forge ahead with the recruitment of its chief electoral officer, it said, adding that restarting the process would disadvantage the shortlisted candidates who qualify for the position.
“We’ve given everybody enough chance to apply. At this point in time, there is no decision to do a second recruitment. You can only draw from the pool of applicants you have.
“We were focusing on a person who is fit and proper for the job,” she said.
A shoo-in
Nghikembua was also asked whether current ECN boss Theo Mujoro had applied for the position, and whether he had been shortlisted. “If he had applied, if I had seen his application, we would have shortlisted him,” she said.
The five candidates shortlisted for the job are current director of operations Petrus Shaama, director of public office-bearers at the Office of the Prime Minister Oscar Muyatwa, legal advisor in the Office of the President Helmuth Nawaseb, academic Vincent Sazita and former executive director of the Namibia Institute of Public Management Michael Tjivikua.
This follows the announcement of the shortlisted candidates in the press this week.
Weighing into the topic, PSC chairperson Salmaan Jacobs said the ECN was not subject to labour regulations guiding other offices, ministries and agencies.
“The ECN is an authority, part of public enterprises, run by its own board of directors or commissioners. They do not fall under the mandate of the Public Service Commission Act,” he said.
The appointment of the chief electoral officer was also done apart from the guidelines as stipulated by the PSC and its guiding acts, Jacobs explained.
“The recruitment process is different from what the Act says. There is a difference, and we should keep that in mind."
Low interest
News broke this week that all five of the shortlisted candidates are men.
Ahead of planned interviews - scheduled for 30 June - where the candidates will be put through a public interview process, ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua said the commission is disappointed in the low interest women showed the position.
“We received 12 applications in total. The one woman who did apply did not qualify. We would have loved to have more women applying for the position, but we do not know why they didn’t apply,” she said.
The ECN will forge ahead with the recruitment of its chief electoral officer, it said, adding that restarting the process would disadvantage the shortlisted candidates who qualify for the position.
“We’ve given everybody enough chance to apply. At this point in time, there is no decision to do a second recruitment. You can only draw from the pool of applicants you have.
“We were focusing on a person who is fit and proper for the job,” she said.
A shoo-in
Nghikembua was also asked whether current ECN boss Theo Mujoro had applied for the position, and whether he had been shortlisted. “If he had applied, if I had seen his application, we would have shortlisted him,” she said.
The five candidates shortlisted for the job are current director of operations Petrus Shaama, director of public office-bearers at the Office of the Prime Minister Oscar Muyatwa, legal advisor in the Office of the President Helmuth Nawaseb, academic Vincent Sazita and former executive director of the Namibia Institute of Public Management Michael Tjivikua.
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