Agribank Board of Directors gets boot

FINANCE Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has fired the directors of Agribank for refusing to endorse her order to appoint Deputy Lands Minister Isak Katali as acting Chief Executive Officer.

Kuugongelwa-Amadhila wrote to all the directors asking them to resign. She said their relationship with Government had broken down “irretrievably”.Agribank, a wholly-owned State corporation, reports to the Ministry of Finance as the supervisory authority.But immediate policy decisions and top appointments are technically the prerogative of the board, with the “concurrence” of the Ministers of Finance and Agriculture.The two-page letter of dismissal was sent to Agribank on Wednesday afternoon, the day Katali was to start work there.The Namibian has learned that Kuugongelwa-Amadhila dispatched the missive after the Agribank board informed her that Katali was not suitable in qualification and relevant experience for the N$1 million a year post.Katali, who has Bachelors and Masters degrees in education, was a teacher and an education planner before he was appointed a deputy minister.He is 46 years old.Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, who is still on maternity leave, wrote that she wanted to “register the shareholder’s disappointment in the deteriorated relations” between Government and the board of directors of Agribank “highlighted more recently by your collective unwillingness to concur with the shareholder on the interim management… at its top level”.The directors and the Minister of Finance have been at loggerheads for about a year after Kuugongelwa-Amadhila reportedly did an about-turn and refused to agree with their appointment of Maureen Hinda as Agribank’s CEO.The Minister argued that the board had not followed procedures in appointing Hinda, herself a director of Agribank, who said she had declared her interest in applying for the top management post and recused herself from its dealings.Finance insiders say the Minister was not happy that Patricia Keeja, who represents the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development on the board, did not recuse herself during the appointment of Hinda, a cousin.The directors insisted that their hunt for the manager was above-board and irreproachable, but eventually caved in to Kuugongelwa-Amadhila’s demands that they re-advertise the vacancy.The post has been re-advertised three times.The board has accused the Minister of interfering with their responsibility for running the bank.The Minister has now put plans in motion to give her wider powers to fire and appoint directors more easily and to strengthen her hand in the choice of a CEO.In the letter, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila says:”I must record that the shareholder-board relationship, has with the passage of time culminated in an irretrievable breakdown in trust, borne from the many confrontational episodes in which the shareholder with hindsight has now concluded that the board pursues a deliberate stratagem to frustrate the shareholder’s objectives.”She did not elaborate about the objectives that were being frustrated.Agribank Chairman Dr Franz Stellmacher confirmed yesterday that the board had not appointed Katali, but declined to elaborate.Stellmacher claimed he was not aware of the order to resign, adding that the board intended to have a meeting next week.The directors are:Stellmacher, Hinda, Keeja, Connie Pandeni of the trade unions, Alba Bhrmann who is representing farmers.She said their relationship with Government had broken down “irretrievably”.Agribank, a wholly-owned State corporation, reports to the Ministry of Finance as the supervisory authority.But immediate policy decisions and top appointments are technically the prerogative of the board, with the “concurrence” of the Ministers of Finance and Agriculture.The two-page letter of dismissal was sent to Agribank on Wednesday afternoon, the day Katali was to start work there.The Namibian has learned that Kuugongelwa-Amadhila dispatched the missive after the Agribank board informed her that Katali was not suitable in qualification and relevant experience for the N$1 million a year post.Katali, who has Bachelors and Masters degrees in education, was a teacher and an education planner before he was appointed a deputy minister.He is 46 years old.Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, who is still on maternity leave, wrote that she wanted to “register the shareholder’s disappointment in the deteriorated relations” between Government and the board of directors of Agribank “highlighted more recently by your collective unwillingness to concur with the shareholder on the interim management… at its top level”.The directors and the Minister of Finance have been at loggerheads for about a year after Kuugongelwa-Amadhila reportedly did an about-turn and refused to agree with their appointment of Maureen Hinda as Agribank’s CEO.The Minister argued that the board had not followed procedures in appointing Hinda, herself a director of Agribank, who said she had declared her interest in applying for the top management post and recused herself from its dealings.Finance insiders say the Minister was not happy that Patricia Keeja, who represents the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development on the board, did not recuse herself during the appointment of Hinda, a cousin.The directors insisted that their hunt for the manager was above-board and irreproachable, but eventually caved in to Kuugongelwa-Amadhila’s demands that they re-advertise the vacancy.The post has been re-advertised three times.The board has accused the Minister of interfering with their responsibility for running the bank.The Minister has now put plans in motion to give her wider powers to fire and appoint directors more easily and to strengthen her hand in the choice of a CEO.In the letter, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila says:”I must record that the shareholder-board relationship, has with the passage of time culminated in an irretrievable breakdown in trust, borne from the many confrontational episodes in which the shareholder with hindsight has now concluded that the board pursues a deliberate stratagem to frustrate the shareholder’s objectives.”She did not elaborate about the objectives that were being frustrated.Agribank Chairman Dr Franz Stellmacher confirmed yesterday that the board had not appointed Katali, but declined to elaborate.Stellmacher claimed he was not aware of the order to resign, adding that the board intended to have a meeting next week.The directors are:Stellmacher, Hinda, Keeja, Connie Pandeni of the trade unions, Alba Bhrmann who is representing farmers.