Ministry rejects Namibia Air appointment claims

The Ministry of Works and Transport says no leadership appointments have been made for the proposed national airline, Namibia Air, after the official opposition alleged that two senior aviation officials with controversial pasts are already helping shape the project.

The ministry's clarification follows a statement issued last week by Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) member Nelson Kalangula, who alleged that works executive director Jonas Sheelongo and Namibia Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) executive director Toska Sem are among officials planning and advising on Namibia Air despite forensic and disciplinary findings made against them during their previous roles at Air Namibia and the Namibia Airports Company (NAC).

Ministry spokesperson Julius Ngweda said on Friday that a technical committee on the establishment of the national airline was constituted in 2025 to undertake the groundwork for the project, but stressed that no executive positions within Namibia Air have been filled. He, however, did not disclose the identities of the committee's members.

He said no names have been formally tabled or approved for leadership positions and that any future appointments would only be made after candidates undergo the government's recruitment, due diligence and vetting processes.

"Every candidate will be subjected to the full rigour of our state-mandated recruitment, due diligence and vetting processes," Ngweda said.

The ministry also declined to comment on the suitability of individuals whose names have surfaced publicly, saying it would be premature to assess prospective candidates before formal vacancies exist.

In his statement last week, Kalangula argued that the issue was not future appointments but what he termed the "recycling of failure", accusing the government of allowing officials allegedly implicated in governance failures to continue occupying influential positions.

He alleged that Sheelongo, Air Namibia's former general manager for technical and operations, was implicated in a 2014 Deloitte forensic investigation into alleged unauthorised aircraft contracts, procurement failures and breaches of company policies. Despite those findings, Kalangula claimed Sheelongo is now part of the team "planning, advising and negotiating" agreements for the establishment of Namibia Air.

Kalangula also alleged that Sem, formerly strategic executive for business strategy at NAC, was found guilty in a disciplinary inquiry of colluding to bypass public tender procedures, leaking confidential procurement information and attempting to advance a disqualified bidder. He claimed the inquiry recommended her dismissal and referral to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), but alleged she is now advising works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi on aviation regulatory matters relating to the proposed airline.

"When senior leadership is implicated in misconduct, gross negligence or financial irregularities, the systemic failure to enforce institutional accountability and the subsequent promotion or transfer of flagged individuals severely undermines the integrity of public administration," Kalangula said.

Kalangula argued that allowing officials allegedly linked to governance failures at Air Namibia and NAC to help shape the new national airline risks repeating the mistakes that contributed to the collapse of the former national carrier.

"We cannot continue to recycle individuals who were part of systems that failed so catastrophically and expect different results," he said.

Kalangula called Nekundi to review investigation reports involving senior officials in state-owned enterprises under the ministry and implement their recommendations.

He also said he had written to the ACC last week seeking a progress report on the forensic investigations.