No standoff here, says Kauta

The board chairperson of the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor), Patrick Kauta, says there was no ministerial influence or any other implied personal considerations in the board's decision to sack nine temporary employees.“There is nothing personal between me and [managing director Immanuel] Mulunga and the board did not get any instructions from the minister [of mines and energy, Obeth Kandjoze],” Kauta emphasised. Kauta was reacting to an allegation by Mulunga that Namcor staff submitted complaints against him to Minister Kandjoze, who in turn used the Namcor board as conveyor belt to transmit his decisions. Mulunga also said that Kandjoze did not want him in that position. Kandjoze denied that. The board on 27 November resolved that the contracts of the nine temporary employees be terminated because of questions around the circumstances surrounding their appointment.It is understood that most of the dismissed employees had been working at Namcor for about one year; another was employed for only about a month and a half. It is further understood that their salaries ranged between N$60 000 and N$140 000 per month, costing Namcor an estimated N$4.7 million. Speaking from his holiday in the Seychelles yesterday, Kauta said the board had merely taken a policy decision regarding the termination of the contracts.Inside sources preferring anonymity said managing director Immanuel Mulunga was in agreement with the board decision but that he must have had second thoughts because he later wanted the decision to be rescinded. Mulunga had reportedly advanced the argument that it would be inhumane to leave the dismissed employees high and dry over the festive season and instead pleaded with the board that their employment rather be terminated later in January. When the board refused to do so, it is alleged, he then consulted lawyer Frank Köpplinger on the matter. Mulunga said Köpplinger advised him that the board decision was illegal. “I will be very surprised if Köpplinger will conclude that a legal consequence can flow from an unlawful, illegal appointment,” Kauta said when asked about Köpplinger's purported advice to Mulunga.Köpplinger is expected to give his opinion on the matter in the middle of January. The Namcor board is likely to pronounce itself publicly on the matter at a press briefing scheduled for next week. CATHERINE SASMAN

No standoff here, says Kauta

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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No standoff here, says Kauta

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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