Amta funding frozen amid missing audits

The Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency (Amta) is facing a deepening financial crisis after its operational budget for the 2025/26 financial year was allegedly withheld due to outstanding audits and missing financial statements.

Insiders told Namibian Sun that the agriculture ministry and the Treasury have not released operational funding because Amta has failed to submit audited financial statements for two consecutive financial years, leaving the agency without the financial compliance required under Namibia’s public enterprises framework.

Amta has, however, dismissed reports that the funding delay is connected to outstanding audits.

The funding freeze has intensified concerns over the future of the state-owned entity, which plays a central role in Namibia’s food security system through its fresh produce business hubs and grain procurement operations.

Amta’s last completed external audit covers the 2022/23 financial year. The 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years remain unaudited, sources said.

Under the law, state-owned enterprises are required to submit audited financial statements annually to the auditor general and the relevant line ministry.

According to insiders, the absence of these reports has effectively paralysed funding approvals and left the agency struggling to plan operations.

Presidential appeal

The financial uncertainty forms part of a broader governance crisis that has now prompted employees to appeal directly to President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.

In a letter dated 30 March, employees warned that Amta is operating without audits, without an approved strategic plan and without a permanent chief executive for more than three years.

“We, employees of Amta, humbly write to request an audience with you to discuss the operations, challenges and future potential of Amta,” the letter reads.

The letter, authored by Pauli Titus Sitentu, operations manager at Amta’s Rundu Fresh Produce Business Hub, describes an institution under mounting operational strain.

Among the concerns raised are escalating electricity costs at fresh produce hubs, the absence of guaranteed markets for local farmers and weak coordination between Amta and government green scheme projects.

Employees also questioned the sustainability of expecting Amta to operate commercially while simultaneously fulfilling a national food security mandate.

Insiders say the lack of a budget has worsened instability within the agency, leaving management unable to make binding operational decisions and staff increasingly uncertain about the organisation’s future.

External audit requested

The crisis comes as Amta continues to operate without a substantive chief executive officer.

The agency has not had a permanent managing director since April 2023. Percy Misika, a retired civil servant who had been acting in the position, stepped down at the end of March this year. Wilhelmina Handunge has since taken over in an acting capacity.

Presidential spokesperson Jonas Mbambo confirmed that the Presidency had received the employees’ letter but said a meeting with the head of state had not yet been scheduled.

Amta spokesperson Pasval Elijah acknowledged that the outstanding audits had not yet been submitted to the auditor general or the line ministry.

She attributed the delays to “transitional and administrative factors” and said external auditors had since been appointed to finalise the outstanding work.

Elijah, however, denied that the withheld budget was linked to the missing audits.

“The release of budgetary allocations follows standard procedures applicable to all state-owned enterprises,” she said.

She added that the agency remains committed to resolving its operational and governance challenges.

Questions sent to the ministry of agriculture earlier this week remained unanswered at the time of publication.