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OVER 10 local authorities in the Hardap and //Kharas regions have been without chief executive officers (CEOs) for over two years.
These village and town councils are Kalkrand, Stampriet, Aranos, Gibeon, Bethanie, Berseba, Keetmans-hoop, Koës, Lüderitz, Oranjemund, and Karasburg.
They have been operating with acting CEOs seconded to them, with some appointing staff to act in the position.
The Association of Local Authorities Namibia has previously expressed concern about the prevailing suspensions of CEOs and senior managers by local authority councillors, while the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development has been accused of remaining silent on the matter.
Executive director Nghidinwa Daniel says it is not up to the ministry to force the local authorities to appoint accounting officers.
He says local authority councils have the responsibilities, duties, powers, and functions to govern and run their affairs, which also include the powers to fill or cause the filling of vacant positions to the personnel structures of the councils.
“This responsibility is set out in section 27(1)(a)(i) and (ii) of the Local Authorities Act for the filling of the vacant posts. It will then consult, and obtain the approval of the minister,” he said.
Given the direct relationship that exists between the capacity of councils and the delivery of services to the public, Daniel says the ministry continues to push for timely decisions and action on strategic matters, such as the filling of critical positions.
The ministry has since 2021 directed most local authorities to fast-track the recruitment of CEOs.
Most local authorities have not yet heeded this call, and are still in the process of advertising or are at the long-listing stages.
So far, only the Berseba Village Council appointed Ivan Vries about three months ago, after having an acting CEO.
Community members at Berseba held demonstrations last year calling for a substantive CEO to be appointed.
What the ministry was not involved in was the suspension of CEOs, as most resignations and dismissals involved disagreements between councillors and CEOs.
ORANJEMUND
The CEO of Oranjemund, Shali Akwaanyenga, resigned a few months ago after being on suspension for over a year.
The town mayor Lookback Kasemba says the council has not resumed the recruitment process due to budgetary constraints.
“We are waiting to hear from the minister regarding the budget because we do not have the money to recruit another CEO. We will see how they can assist us so that we recruit.”
STAMPRIET
Stampriet is at the long-listing stage, according to the chairperson of the management committee, Elretha Kamutindi.
She says the council intends to appoint a CEO by next month.
KEETMANSHOOP
The Keetmanshoop CEO, Desmond Basson, was fired with immediate effect in July, after the council discovered that Basson reportedly did not sign his service contract in 2019 when his contract was renewed for another five-year term by the previous Swapo-led council.
In the letter issued to Basson, the council said at its ordinary council meeting held on 8 July it was resolved to rescind the council resolution taken in October 2019 and that the working relationship be ended with immediate effect, due to there being no service contract between Basson and the council.
Mayor McDonald Hanse said the recruitment and selection process for a substantive CEO is in the pipeline.
“We will be advertising the post in the next two weeks in the newspapers,” says Hanse, who adds that it’s very challenging to work without a substantive CEO.
“While councillors are supposed to focus on council matters, you time and again have to intervene in administrative matters and it also makes life very difficult for the acting person,” says Hanse.
TSES
“Ivan Vries was appointed. He came over from the Tses Village Council,” says Bennie Diergaard, the acting chief regional officer of the //Kharas Regional Council.
KOËS
The substantive CEO, Willie Humphries, was suspended last year due to allegations of the misappropriation of council funds.
It is still not known when the process of appointing a new CEO will start.
Humphries was accused of failing to lay a criminal charge against an accountant who allegedly disappeared with the council’s vehicle without authority, as well as about N$10 000 from the council’s safe.
It was also suspected that the staff member had fraudulently withdrawn N$250 000 from the council’s bank account at Keetmanshoop, after allegedly forging the signatures of authorised signatories.
Humphries only reportedly laid the charge during the week of the demonstrations, while the acts took place a month before.
The municipalities of Windhoek and Walvis Bay have been advertising their of CEO positions, but have failed to appoint anyone to date.
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