MP turns up the heat on stalled Agribusdev dissolution

Fresh questions have been tabled in parliament over the prolonged dissolution of state-owned Agribusdev, with concerns mounting over delayed staff integration, ongoing salary payments and the performance of a N$5 million consultancy contract.

Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) parliamentarian Michael Mulunga tabled a question for agriculture minister Inge Zaamwani-Kamwi in the National Assembly last week, seeking clarity on the status of former Agribusdev employees and the stalled wind-down of the entity.

Cabinet resolved in 2021 to dissolve Agribusdev following the accumulation of significant debt, transferring its functions and financial obligations, including staff salaries, to the ministry. However, nearly five years later, the transition remains incomplete.

Delayed again

At the centre of scrutiny is a consultancy contract worth approximately N$5 million awarded to Cha-Cha-Cha Management Consultancy to finalise the dissolution and facilitate staff reintegration. The contract, initially due in June 2025 and later extended to September 2025, remains unfinished months after the revised deadline. Mulunga said the situation has left employees in limbo, with some reporting for duty while others remain at home, despite all continuing to receive salaries.

“What steps has the ministry taken to provide the affected employees with formal clarity on their position within the ministry? What is the legal basis for this continued remuneration in the absence of formal employment contracts or integration?” he asked.

He is also demanding disclosure of the total monthly wage bill and whether penalties have been imposed on the consultancy for failing to meet its obligations.

Collapse

The drawn-out process comes against the backdrop of renewed political criticism of Agribusdev’s legacy.

During a visit to green scheme projects in Kavango East last year, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah blamed the entity for the collapse of several agricultural initiatives, saying performance declined sharply after it took over operations. “The good thing is that the animal called Agribusdev is now out of the way… when Agribusdev was brought in, everything collapsed,” she said at the time.

Agribusdev, established in 2011 to manage Namibia’s green schemes and boost food production, was plagued by financial mismanagement, mounting debt and operational failures. By 2020, it struggled to pay salaries and suppliers, prompting government to dissolve it the following year.

Despite its troubled past, government maintains that green schemes are slowly recovering under new arrangements, although administrative and staffing challenges continue to cast a shadow over the transition.

Mulunga is now pressing for a clear timeline on the finalisation of the dissolution process and the formal integration of affected workers, a process that, years later, remains unfinished.

Zaamwani has not yet responded to his questions.