Farmers sue Mutorwa, others

An application in the High Court is seeking an order to set aside the appointment of Meatco's six-member board on 16 February last year.

The application was brought by five farmers - Amon Ngavetene, Alia Fasa Kandjii, Peter Kazongominja, Gottfriedt Tsuseb and Tjakazapi Janson Mbunguha.

According to them, agriculture minister John Mutorwa was not authorised to appoint a new Meatco board on 16 February 2017.

The board consists of Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun (chairperson), Ronald Kubas, Sophia Kasheeta, Ismael Ngangane, Fanie Oosthuizen and Mushokobanji Mwilima and had their term extended by the minister until 2020.

Mutorwa, the board and public enterprises minister Leon Jooste are listed as respondents in the matter.

The matter that was heard last week dates back to an urgent application in February last year, brought by the Meatco livestock producers based on an affidavit by Ngavetene.

In the application currently before court Ngavetene said the appointment of board members at Meatco had a troubled history.

He said Mutorwa had no power in terms of the Meatco Act, or the Public Enterprises Governance Act, to appoint a new board on 16 February last year, while in law there was an existing board.

According to the court papers, Mutorwa, in his capacity as agriculture minister, contravened the provisions of the Meatco Act, Public Enterprises Governance Act of 2006 and Article 18 of the Namibian Constitution when he made the appointments.

Ngavetene said on 15 February 2017, a day before the board was appointed, an urgent application was brought before the court regarding the earlier appointment of a different, temporary Meatco board by Mutorwa.

That urgent application sought an order to set aside the decision of the minister and declare the temporary board illegal. However, Mutorwa settled the matter and agreed that his appointment of the temporary board be set aside and declared illegal. Ngavetene said the matter over the temporary board was settled on 17 February last year.

However, Mutorwa on 16 February already took the decision to appoint Meatco's current board led by Namundjebo-Tilahun. Furthermore, the court order regarding the temporary board's matter was only issued on 15 March.

According to Ngavetene the decision taken by Mutorwa on 16 February 2017 to appoint the current board should be declared invalid and set aside.

Ngavetene also argued that the agriculture minister ignored their statutory role as members of Meatco when it came to the nomination of Meatco board members, while the Meatco board ignored the farmers' request for a motion to the effect that the board should resign as it was illegally appointed.

He said the Meatco Act expressly stipulates that all livestock producers registered at Meatco are automatically members and, therefore, have a say in the composition of its board. Therefore, they are legally authorised to nominate possible members of the board and to protect their interests in the company.

Mutorwa is required to select from these nominations two persons with expertise and competence in meat processing and marketing. In addition, he was asked to identify a board member from the proposals made to him, representing the interests of communal and commercial farmers, as well as employees of Meatco. However, Mutorwa allegedly disregarded that provision by first arbitrarily extending the term of office of the previous board of directors and then appointing a new board without consulting the livestock producers.

“Further, if the minister was entitled to appoint a new board on 16 February 2017 (which is denied) in so doing, the minister was required to comply with the provisions of the Meatco Act in seeking nominations from interest groups,” said Ngavetene.

According to him, no nominations were sought from Meatco members for persons to represent the interests of communal farmers, as well as for two livestock experts.

Ngavetene and other applicants only heard about the appointment of the board in early March.

“We discussed the issue amongst ourselves as livestock producers and were very dissatisfied with the turn of events.”

He said the dissatisfaction stemmed from the fact that a meeting was held in August 2016 where Meatco members nominated specific people to represent communal and commercial livestock producers as well as experts on the board.

The meeting that was scheduled for 12 August 2016 was called to nominate their candidates for the new board of directors even though a special members' meeting that had been scheduled to take place was postponed.

The meeting was cancelled on short notice on advice by the minister and was boycotted by the majority of the then board.

Former Meatco CEO Veikuii Rukoro went ahead with a special members' meeting at which new board members were nominated, despite the existing board, at the time, having 60 days left in their term. After the meeting, a letter was sent to Mutorwa with the list of nominations, but he rejected the proposals on the grounds that the term of office of the board had not yet lapsed.



ELLANIE SMIT