Secrecy shrouds NCAA top job

The former director of civil aviation, Angelina Simana, was reportedly appointed as the executive director of the newly formed Namibia Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on 9 May.

It is alleged that her appointment was finalised despite the fact that the post had not been advertised and no other candidates had been considered.

From an unsigned employment contract seen by this reporter, the NCAA board had resolved on 17 February to appoint Simana on a permanent basis at a yearly salary of more than N$1.1 million. Her benefits include medical and pension fund membership (N$252 000), a car allowance of N$108 770 and a housing allowance of N$81 558.

She will be entitled to an incentive bonus equal to 35% of the gross annual total remuneration package. Upon the termination of the contract she will be paid a taxable end-of-contract gratuity at a rate of 10% of the total remuneration package.

Questions sent to the chairperson of the NCAA, Kosmos Egumbo, regarding this matter remained unanswered yesterday.



Other posts

The NCAA, has, however, advertised a number of other positions under what is considered an ICAO [International Civil Aviation Authority] project run by ICAO consultants from within the NCAA.

Most recently advertised positions were for four 12-month contracts for an assistant manager/supervisor aviation security at a yearly salary of N$702 530, a junior aviation security inspector (at N$601 227 a year), a library and document management officer (N$509 584), and an executive assistant for air navigation services (N$509 584).

Industry players who prefer anonymity said the salary structures offered under the ICAO project for Namibia were “out of control”.



More salaries, appointments questioned

Simana is accused of recruiting ICAO consultants instead of ensuring that Namibians were trained to take over the positions.

In late April an accusation was made that Simana had introduced her first batch of ICAO recruits, many from South Africa, purportedly scheduled to have arrived in the first week of May with tax-free salaries of just over US$130 000 per year.





The packages for the ICAO recruits, it is alleged, include the use of government vehicles and fuel, which is allegedly not part of the ICAO contract and that while NCAA is a parastatal.



It is further alleged that Simana had informed previous staff of the now defunct Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) that she would only employ a select few Namibians while employing more foreigners and contracting foreign companies.







DISGRUNTLEMENT







Industry players say the formation of the NCAA, which supplants the DCA, was an opportunity to “fix a broken civil aviation system” but that the opportunity was missed because “the wrong things are allowed to continue with the same wrong people” who had been part of the DCA.



Allegations are made that the NCAA is to move into a disproportionally huge new building while the NCAA requires fewer than 220 employees, many of whom will be posted at airports for the provision of air navigation services as per the new Civil Aviation Act.



There are also allegations of cronyism in the selection of new staff of the NCAA. It is further alleged that ex-DCA staff who had criticised the leadership of the defunct DCA were being ignored in the recruitment process.



Willem Goeiemann, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works and Transport, in July last year wrote to DCA staff requesting their agreement to be seconded to the NCAA for a six-month period with their current public service terms and conditions.



He wrote that at the end of the secondment period the employees would be offered employment with the NCAA which would be “no less beneficial” than their jobs at the ministry.



Tom Grant, an ICAO advisor, in the meantime wrote a notice to say that the NCAA board had extended the secondment of ex-DCA staff until at least October this year, after which the selection of staff to receive job offers at NCAA would begin.



ICAO consultants were then to be appointed to provide advice on job valuations, Grant wrote. This process was to be completed “in time to give selected staff offers by the end of September”.







SIMANA DISMISSES ALLEGATIONS







Simana said at the end of March that she would not respond to a number of detailed questions “raised by unnamed sources”, who she suggested should “come out of hiding” instead of making “unsupported allegations”.



She said many of the questions posed had been published previously and had been proven to be groundless.



“Claims of this sort are made anonymously because they are intended to serve the self-interest of particular individuals who have no qualms about undermining the good work of their previous and current colleagues, particularly when they do not have to provide any proof,” said Simana.



She said the NCAA was “always ready to address legitimate concerns based on evidence which can be thoroughly investigated”.



To questions put to her about the alleged “recent ICAO recruits” Simana responded, among others, that it was not within her “domain to respond to staffing matters of a confidential nature”.



“The NCAA, as a recently established entity, remains seized with priority issues on its organisational development that must ensure that it complies with its mandate so that civil aviation in Namibia can be conducted in the public interest with the highest possible safety and security standards in mind,” Simana said.

CATHERINE SASMAN