Suspended officials in limbo

The regional councils of the Kunene and Omusati regions have forked out close to N$1.5 million in salaries for officials who were placed on forced leave, although no action has been taken against them.

The Kunene Regional Council illegally suspended its chief regional officer (CRO) after the Public Service Commission (PSC) refused its suspension request, while the Omusati Regional Council is not treating the suspension of two top officials as urgently as it was requested to do.

PSC chairperson Marcus Kampungu told Namibian Sun there were no grounds for the request by Kunene to suspend its CRO, George Kamseb.

However, the commission did approve a request to suspend Omusati's CRO, Protasius Andowa, and deputy director of finance Elizabeth Mutota.

“After we learned in the media that Omusati had suspended their two officials illegally in August, we communicated with them and they complied.

“They submitted their suspension requests and we approved them on their merits,” Kampungu said.

“We received the suspension request from Kunene in November 2016, a month after they had suspended Kamseb. However, we rejected the request to suspend him. For us to suspend there must be grounds that the official in question could interfere with investigations but in their request there were no grounds for this.”

Kampungu added that they advised Kunene to charge Kamseb while he was still on duty, but the council never got back to them.

Sources told Namibian Sun that the council in the meantime has asked Kamseb to return to work but he refused since he was not informed of the reasons for his suspension.

According to the source, Kamseb was suspended after allegedly failing to provide the council with his employment contract. In November, after consultations with the PSC, the council tried to convince him to return to work, but he refused, according to the source.

“The council is finding itself in a difficult position now. It did not consult the relevant offices before taking the decision. Kamseb has refused to come back to work without being given a reason as to why he was forced to take leave in the first place. They are only now consulting relevant authorities,” the source said. Andowa, Mutota and Kamseb have been suspended with full salaries and benefits.

Andowa and Mutota have been sitting at home, earning full pay for eight months, while Kamseb has been sitting pretty for six.

CROs earn in the salary range of N$489 661 to N$519 632 per year, the same as a deputy permanent secretary.

They also get a monthly housing allowance of N$7 506 as well as a car allowance of N$10 936.

Deputy directors in the range of N$421 859 to N$443 502 receive a car allowance of N$5 993 on the capital cost and N$2 145 on the running costs.

Kampungu said suspensions were not supposed to be maintained indefinitely.

However, the Regional Council Act No 22 of 1992 read together with the Public Servant's Act No 2 of 1980 do not specify an official's term of suspension.

“When you are a ministry or an agency that is requesting permission to suspend, it is regarded as an urgent matter and it has to be treated as such. Since the suspended officials have not been charged or appeared before any disciplinary hearing, there is nothing we can do at this stage,” Kampungu said.



Not briefed

Both Modestus Amutse and Julius Kaujova, chairs of the regional councils of Omusati and Kunene respectively, say they do not know what is going on with these matters.

In Omusati, the director of general services, Gervasius Kashindi, is the acting CRO, while chief accountant Ngombe Iyambo is the acting deputy director of finance. In Kunene, the director of general services, Joseph Jantze, is the acting CRO.

Andowa has been with the council since 2004 and his employment contract expires next year, while Mutota's contract ends in September this year. Sources say the councillors are opting to remain quiet for the time being, waiting for their terms to end.

“I don't know anything thus far. The matter is with the regional council and they have not briefed me yet. Once I get any information, I will inform you. All I can say is that the status quo remains the same,” Amutse said.

Last year, Amutse told Namibian Sun that the urban and rural development ministry had assigned a team of investigators headed by the ministry's chief auditor to investigate the allegations.

He also confirmed that the council had met twice to discuss the outcomes of this investigation, but to date, he has refused to share what was deliberated upon.

“We did our part to put him on leave. For any progress on the matter you must ask the urban and rural development ministry's permanent secretary,” Kaujova said.

ILENI NANDJATO