Cabinet rejects 'flawed' Nida board appointments

Industries minister Modestus Amutse has halted the appointment of a proposed new Namibia Industrial Development Agency (Nida) board after he discovered that appointment letters had reportedly been issued without his approval and that mandatory steps in the selection process had allegedly been skipped.

The seven-member board was allegedly preparing to assume office when Amutse intervened, and promptly ordered the selection process to be restarted.

A list seen by Namibian Sun shows that economist and policy strategist Paul Natangwe Kalenga had been selected as chairperson, while Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency's (Amta) acting chief financial officer Mennesia Vilho was named as deputy chairperson.

The other proposed members were former Standard Bank executive Thaddius Maswahu, Swakopmund municipality general manager Mpasi Haingura, former Namibia Airports Company (NAC) board chairperson Ndeuhala Lewis, Namdeb chief executive Adriaan Burger, and former Namibia Institute of Pathology (NIP) chief executive Kapena Tjombonde.

The appointments were never publicly announced, and the names failed to gain Cabinet endorsement.

Contacted for comment, Amutse said: “Yes, the panel committee that recommended the names did not do a proper job. After the appointment of the board, some flaws [were found] and steps skipped that were not followed. That’s why I then asked the panel committee to redo the whole process.”

Government sources claim appointment letters had already been issued before the process was halted.

Amutse did not specify which steps were skipped, who authorised the issuing of the appointment letters or whether the seven proposed members would be eligible for reconsideration when the appointment process is repeated.

Secretary to Cabinet Emilia Mkusa confirmed to Namibian Sun yesterday that the proposed names had reached Cabinet but were returned because the submission was incomplete.

“Yes, the Nida board names were brought here, but it was sent back for additional information, and the matter has not been returned,” Mkusa said.

Faulty process

A source familiar with the process claimed that the candidates did not undergo the prescribed assessment and appointment process.

According to the source, Maswahu initially received an appointment letter naming him chairperson of the new board – before Kalenga was allegedly picked as chairperson. However, the decision was reversed after Nida acting chief executive Phillip Namundjebo intervened through the industries, mines and energy ministry's executive director, Moses Pakote.

The source further claimed the proposed board members had neither been interviewed nor subjected to a formal selection process.

“Apparently, this new board was never interviewed nor went through any selection process. They were just hand-picked, but by who, that's the real question,” the source alleged.

According to the source, preparations were already underway to announce the board before Amutse discovered the alleged irregularities.

“So, the minister found out about this new board that he had not appointed. So they were recalled immediately,” the source said.

Outgoing board stays on

Amutse says the outgoing Nida board’s term will be extended while officials address the problems that derailed the appointment process.

“The three-month extension for the interim board will be made while I wait for the administrators to finalise the issues,” Amutse said.

The board, chaired by Sebby Kankondi, was appointed for a three-year term from 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2025. It is unclear when or why the board’s term was extended for another year.

Nida was established in 2018 under legislation enacted in 2016 to spearhead Namibia’s industrialisation agenda, promote investment and develop business and agribusiness infrastructure.