Agribusdev board ‘paid for doing nothing’

The country’s agriculture parastatal, which currently finds itself in a vegetative state, has allegedly paid board members close to N$300 000 in retainer fees - despite having nothing to show for it since their appointment in April 2021.

Company insiders informed Namibian Sun that the five-man Agribusdev board did not have single meeting since their appointment. The board has also been accused of providing no strategic direction to the company.

A company source said: “The board claimed in April this year to receive their retainer fees, dating back to the date of their appointment. They only claimed to get their retainer fees because they could not claim sitting fees as they had no board meetings”.

Dr Rosemary Shikangalah (chair), Jacob Nyambe, Inekela Kambindji, Johanna Andowa and Lucas Ndjamba were appointed last year to revive operations at the company.

Just a month after their appointment, a document in which agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein pushed for the closure of Agribusdev leaked into the public domain.

The move allegedly left board members in a catch-22, with some holding the view that there is no point to invest time and resources into reviving the company if the shareholder sees no future for it.

Ndjamba, an executive at the MVA Fund, quit the board in September last year, saying “personal reasons” prompted him to throw in the towel five months after his appointment. He never received any payment for his time on the board, he said.

In limbo

The rift between the company’s executives and its managing director Berfine Antindi has also not made things easier, with the two parties constantly clashing on how projects must be managed.

Agribusdev has been in limbo since last year when Cabinet resolved to dissolve it, promising to transition existing staff into the agriculture ministry. This process is, however, yet to be kickstarted.

Meanwhile, according to insiders, Shikangalah has received a monthly retainer of N$8 300, while ordinary board members received just N$5 400 after tax deductions.

When contacted for comment yesterday, Shikangalah and Antindi passed the buck, refusing to respond to the allegations.

“Is that so? Speak to the managing director,” Shikangalah said when contacted, while Antindi said Shikangalah and the rest of the board are in charge and should respond instead.

“The board are the owners of Agribusdev; they are not under me. I am under them. They are my bosses, so you must speak to them or to the appointing authority,” Antindi said.

Not aware

Ordinary board member Andowa declined to comment on whether she attended any board meetings since her appointment and instead referred questions to Shikangalah.

“I am not aware of what you are saying. I can also not say whether I have received payments. I cannot confirm whether payments were made; I am not in my office right now,” she said.

Ndjamba said he could shed no light on the situation, having resigned as board member, while Shikangalah’s deputy Jacob Nyambe was not reachable.

Schlettwein declined calls made to him and ignored a message on WhatsApp.

Towards the end of last year, Cabinet had directed the termination of Agribusdev as operator of government's green schemes and the cancellation of a memorandum of understanding between the ministry of agriculture and the agency due to perpetual dismal financial performance.

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