SME Bank workers pay for leaders' mistakes

The Namibia Financial Institutions Union is of the view that the SME Bank should not be liquidated and that a restructuring exercise would do more to restore operations at the embattled lender.

“In addition, it has said those responsible for the investment of funds in South Africa should be held to account while competent locals should be appointed to run affairs at the SME Bank,” said the union's general secretary, Asnath Zamuee.

She said the bank was in a position to become profitable, if managed well. “We are of the firm view that closing the bank is in no way a solution. What is needed is a robust restructuring and close monitoring at the bank. In addition, those responsible for the missing millions should be prosecuted and competent Namibians appointed to run the bank. The bank can be profitable, if managed well,” said Zamuee.

According to her, the activities of the central bank will leave many jobless while the persons responsible for the mess at the SME Bank would be allowed to walk away scot-free.





“Our main concern is the Namibian workers who will be left jobless if the bank is closed. The closure will translate into unemployment for innocent employees while the culprits who messed up the bank will be living large,” she said, adding that a large proportion of the workforce was Namibian.



“We will continue to fight for the workers to retain their jobs because they shouldn't be made to pay for the mistakes of foreigners who were deliberately appointed by government.”



It was odd to her that the government had made concerted efforts to turn around under-performing state-owned enterprises but not the SME Bank, which she said was now being used as a scapegoat.



“The government should simply take responsibility for the current mess and correct the situation. They have been bailing out failed parastatals such as Air Namibia, RCC and TransNamib for years without any positive results and now they want to use the SME Bank as a scapegoat.”



She continued that the government had signed the technical agreement that allowed Zimbabweans to run the bank and should thus accept the blame.



“They interfered and secured work permits even when the Zimbabweans didn't qualify to have work permits. Now they want to punish innocent employees who had nothing to do with the missing millions,” she lamented.



Zamuee said not only the board members should be held to account for the missing millions but also those who took out loans and did not repay them.



“Those are the people that should be arrested. Not only were they board members who breached their fiduciary duties, they directly contributed to the current situation at the bank by taking out loans they didn't qualify for,” said Zamuee.



She called on the government to take responsibility for the SME Bank mess and said the jobs of those affected needed to be preserved.



She accused banking authorities of turning a blind eye to activities at the SME Bank.



“The [Bank of Namibia] governor Iipumbu Shiimi knew of the problems at the [SME] bank but kept mum until the situation turned into a sorry state,” she said.



“Our advice to the government is not to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater' but to rather take the bull by the horns and ensure those responsible for the missed millions are arrested. The jobs of the Namibian workers should be preserved. Why is the government only concerned with closing the SME Bank without looking at alternatives?”



Neither the Bank of Namibia nor the finance minister has indicated what they had in mind as far as the liquidation of the SME Bank was concerned.



“It must be noted that this matter is subject to a court application initiated by the Bank of Namibia. The bank is therefore constrained by the sub judice rule from commenting about this matter,” BoN spokesperson Kazembire Zemburuka said upon enquiry.