19 apply, one shortlisted

The Rundu town council is set to conduct an interview today with a shortlisted candidate for its vacant CEO position. This was confirmed by council spokesperson Benjamin Makayi, who told Namibian Sun 19 people had applied for the position. However, only one candidate had met the advertised requirements for the position.“Only one applicant was shortlisted, because only one applicant met the requirements set in the job advert,” Makayi said.“It is true that the interview for the position of CEO is scheduled to take place on Monday (today).”The town council has been without a substantive CEO since Romanus Haironga's contract expired in July last year and was not renewed.Haironga had been at the helm of council since 2007, but fell out of favour with councillors and was placed on suspension for most of his last year in office.However, no formal charges were brought against him. Following Haironga's departure, the council advertised the CEO position and appointed Sikongo Haihambo as acting CEO, while it finalised the recruitment process.Haihambo, a former acting statistician-general of the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) and the former deputy CEO for operations of the Millennium Challenge Account Namibia, acted for 10 months before his sudden resignation in May.Haihambo's contract was expected to come to an end in August. He, however, threw in the towel amid political infighting among the town's five Swapo councillors, which saw the council operating without a management committee for more than six months.The council's strategic executive for corporate services, Herman Haingura, has been acting as CEO since then. The CEO position was advertised over a year ago, but Makayi said no timeframe is stipulated in the Local Authorities Act to complete the recruitment process.“There is no provision in terms of recruitment and selection for local authorities, which places a timeframe limit on the filling of an advertised vacancy. “Nonetheless, the council always strives to finalise all recruitment processes within the shortest reasonable period,” Makayi said.The council currently owes NamWater N$75 million and is struggling to clean the streets of the town, and provide proper roads for residents and visitors.It has also for many years failed to service land on its own and relies on private developers for servicing and the construction of houses, which are often not affordable for local income groups. This has resulted in an increase in land-grabbing activities and the expansion of informal settlements, where illegal water and electricity connections are rife.KENYA KAMBOWE

19 apply, one shortlisted

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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19 apply, one shortlisted

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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