SOE board appointments frozen for six months amid power struggle
Cabinet has placed a six-month moratorium on the appointment of new board directors for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) while amendments to the Public Enterprises Governance Act (PEGA) are being worked on. The move is aimed at preventing a power struggle over who should control board appointments following the dissolution of the public enterprises ministerial function.
In March, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s administration scrapped the public enterprises ministry, transferring the governance of 18 commercial public enterprises and eight extra-budgetary entities back to their respective line ministries.
Public enterprise insiders told Namibian Sun that the dissolution has fuelled a turf war, with some line ministers allegedly attempting to appoint board members to commercial SOEs. Under PEGA, however, this responsibility legally remained with the minister of public enterprises, who made appointments in consultation with Cabinet.
“There’s a power struggle at the moment. The whole plan to amend PEGA is to deal with the looming conflict, where some line ministers have started wanting to take control of board appointments to commercial entities, saying that function is now theirs in the absence of a minister of public enterprises,” a source familiar with the situation said.
PEGA was introduced under the late President Hage Geingob to ensure accountability and efficiency among SOEs. Initially, a ministry of public enterprises was created to drive the reforms, but it was later absorbed by the finance ministry before being dissolved earlier this year.
Interim boards until new law is passed
According to resolutions adopted at a recent Cabinet meeting, all expiring boards will be re-appointed as interim boards for a period of six months, or until new boards are formally constituted under the amended legal framework.
Where boards cannot meet quorum, sponsoring ministries, offices or agencies may propose temporary appointments, but only in consultation with the Office of the Prime Minister and subject to Cabinet approval.
Cabinet further directed that board appointments will henceforth revert to sponsoring ministries, offices and agencies. The ministry of finance has been instructed to transfer all information relating to board appointments to the relevant institutions for urgent implementation.
Meanwhile, the ministries of justice and labour relations, together with the Office of the Attorney-General, have been tasked to provide a legal opinion on the legality of re-appointments and interim appointments. Their findings were due for submission at Cabinet’s 15th meeting on 29 July 2025.
The decisions were communicated in a notice signed by secretary to cabinet Emilia Mkusa – who could not be reached for comment yesterday. The Office of the Prime Minister has been identified as the primary institution affected by the changes, while the ministries of finance and justice, along with the attorney-general, will oversee the resolutions’ implementation.
The Roads Authority and the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) are understood to be among the SOEs that have extended their board terms under the new Cabinet directive.
In March, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s administration scrapped the public enterprises ministry, transferring the governance of 18 commercial public enterprises and eight extra-budgetary entities back to their respective line ministries.
Public enterprise insiders told Namibian Sun that the dissolution has fuelled a turf war, with some line ministers allegedly attempting to appoint board members to commercial SOEs. Under PEGA, however, this responsibility legally remained with the minister of public enterprises, who made appointments in consultation with Cabinet.
“There’s a power struggle at the moment. The whole plan to amend PEGA is to deal with the looming conflict, where some line ministers have started wanting to take control of board appointments to commercial entities, saying that function is now theirs in the absence of a minister of public enterprises,” a source familiar with the situation said.
PEGA was introduced under the late President Hage Geingob to ensure accountability and efficiency among SOEs. Initially, a ministry of public enterprises was created to drive the reforms, but it was later absorbed by the finance ministry before being dissolved earlier this year.
Interim boards until new law is passed
According to resolutions adopted at a recent Cabinet meeting, all expiring boards will be re-appointed as interim boards for a period of six months, or until new boards are formally constituted under the amended legal framework.
Where boards cannot meet quorum, sponsoring ministries, offices or agencies may propose temporary appointments, but only in consultation with the Office of the Prime Minister and subject to Cabinet approval.
Cabinet further directed that board appointments will henceforth revert to sponsoring ministries, offices and agencies. The ministry of finance has been instructed to transfer all information relating to board appointments to the relevant institutions for urgent implementation.
Meanwhile, the ministries of justice and labour relations, together with the Office of the Attorney-General, have been tasked to provide a legal opinion on the legality of re-appointments and interim appointments. Their findings were due for submission at Cabinet’s 15th meeting on 29 July 2025.
The decisions were communicated in a notice signed by secretary to cabinet Emilia Mkusa – who could not be reached for comment yesterday. The Office of the Prime Minister has been identified as the primary institution affected by the changes, while the ministries of finance and justice, along with the attorney-general, will oversee the resolutions’ implementation.
The Roads Authority and the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) are understood to be among the SOEs that have extended their board terms under the new Cabinet directive.
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