NAC freezes foreign trips, recruitment and tenders

The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) has suspended all foreign travel for its employees, recruitment and several procurement activities with immediate effect, following a directive from its newly appointed board.

The sweeping measures were communicated to staff in an internal memo dated 8 September and seen by Namibian Sun, in which NAC CEO Bisey /Uirab said the directives were handed down by the new board.

“All foreign travels are suspended with immediate effect and until further notice. No new requests for foreign travel will be processed or approved during this period,” /Uirab wrote.

In cases where travel arrangements had already been made, employees were instructed to consult their superiors for guidance.

“Employees who may be affected by this directive are requested to engage with their respective line managers for guidance on any travel arrangement currently underway,” he said.

The board has also frozen some purchasing activities.

“Some procurement activities are suspended with immediate effect and until further notice. This includes planned procurements, ongoing procurement processes and any new procurement initiatives. The suspension applies to all stages of the procurement cycle, including advertisement, evaluation, adjudication and direct procurement processes,” /Uirab wrote.

Staff were instructed not to initiate procurement-related activities unless specifically authorised by management.

Recruitment moratorium

The company has also implemented a halt on new appointments.

“Employees are reminded that the previously communicated moratorium on recruitment remains fully in force. No recruitment activities, appointments, interviews, or related processes may proceed until further notice,” /Uirab said.

A suspension of disciplinary procedures also remains in force.

“The previously communicated suspension of disciplinary procedures similarly remains effective until further notice. All managers and employees are requested to continue observing this directive in its entirety,” he wrote.

The memo does not state the reasons for the latest suspensions, nor does it indicate how long they are expected to remain in place.

It is also unclear whether the foreign-travel suspension applies to members of the NAC board.

30-day deadline

The measures come about a month after works and transport minister Veikko Nekundi replaced five NAC board members with an interim board headed by Rosalinde Nakale.

Other members are Otniel Podewitz, the deputy chairperson, Sophia Kasera, Phillip Iifo, Loide Ekandjo and Natacha Kasera-Kandombo.

The new board was appointed amid a wider push by the ministry to strengthen governance, accountability, professionalism and performance at the state-owned airport company.

At the time of the board’s appointment on 4 August, Nekundi instructed it to urgently implement recommendations contained in a ministerial investigation report and address governance and operational shortcomings within 30 days.

“The company and the temporary board have a responsibility. This is your mandate and your responsibility to deal with the findings of the investigation and address the issues identified. This is an investigation report with all the findings. You have 30 days to address all these issues,” Nekundi urged.

That deadline has since passed.

Nekundi said the changes were intended to ensure that entities under his ministry adhere to high standards of corporate governance.

“The stewardship of public resources demands accountability and transparency at every level,” Nekundi said.

The minister also said NAC needed to move beyond simply maintaining airport facilities and begin generating greater economic value from its assets.

ACC probe

The travel freeze comes as NAC faces a new investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) into allegations concerning the state-owned airport company.

ACC director general Paulus Noa confirmed that the commission had launched an investigation.

“It is possible investigators visited NAC. I confirm that ACC has launched an investigation into allegations you pointed out, inclusive of any other related allegations,” Noa told Namibian Sun.

The investigation follows months of scrutiny of NAC’s governance and expenditure.

In June, Namibian Sun reported on NAC’s controversial vehicle scheme under which 19 executives and managers received company-owned vehicles that had originally cost the company nearly N$15 million in total.

A works and transport ministry investigation found that the vehicles were transferred to beneficiaries after the scheme was abolished in 2021, with each beneficiary paying a transfer fee of N$5 000.

The vehicle scheme formed part of a broader ministerial investigation into allegations concerning NAC’s governance and management.

Questions sent to /Uirab, Nakale and NAC spokesperson Dan Kamati about the reasons for the latest suspensions and whether they apply to the board itself were not answered by the time of going to print.