Boois new acting DG at NBC

WITH NBC Board member Yvonne Boois taking over as acting Director General, it appears the controversial former incumbent, Matthew //Gowaseb, will return to his job at State House.

A staff announcement on Friday confirmed that Boois would take over the post in an acting capacity in order to oversee the process of appointing a new Director General.//Gowaseb was to act in the position until the end of January, but many hoped he would be confirmed in the position. However, political interference in some of the changes he was trying to bring about at the corporation resulted in a standoff.Board member Boois, who is also in charge of the Namibia Literacy Trust, takes over from //Gowaseb on Wednesday.The Namibian was reliably informed that Boois will have to oversee the process of appointing a new DG. //Gowaseb, who is returning to his State House office, would also be allowed to apply for the controversial post.The move ended weeks of speculation and lobbying in Government and Swapo power circles as to whether to keep //Gowaseb in the position.A source in Government told The Namibian that //Gowaseb decided to vacate the post because the Board and Information Minister Joel Kaapanda could not agree on terms. It was said that //Gowaseb gave a set of demands which they could not guarantee.A source close to NBC told The Namibian that another bone of contention was the pay package offered to //Gowaseb. Earlier this month, after a disagreement with the Board about staff transfers, //Gowaseb wrote a letter to the board indicating that he was no longer interested and that he was going back to his State House job.On Friday, the Board reportedly pulled out that letter and told //Gowaseb that they had approved his notice that he was not available for the job after January 26.//Gowaseb reportedly packed up after the Board informed him of their decision to reverse his reshuffle of some senior managers.Meanwhile, The Namibian has been informed that the Board will not reverse //Gowaseb’s decision to move senior managers, a move that is said to have been the catalyst of all his misfortunes at the NBC.Core to that was his shifting of the head of TV programmes, Claudia Iikela, to the position of Manager: Radio Services, overseeing all language services and the national service; and acting Manager of Radio Services Tobias Kandanga to the marketing department.Initial reports said the two resisted the transfers and reported the matter to former President Sam Nujoma and Minister Kaapanda.Iikela is reportedly consulting her lawyers over the reshuffle.Refusing to comment on personal attacks from some in Swapo, //Gowaseb commended the NBC staff for their support over the past seven months.’I must admit that I am proud of NBC staff. They have great deal of commitment and passion for the corporation. I must also thank the viewers who gave me support, encouragement and advice throughout my tenure. They were the source of my energy,’ he said.Boois has a long history working in the education field, as a teacher, trainer, manager and community activist, and holds a Degree in Education (BA), a Masters degree in Education (MEd) and a Post Graduate diploma in Education Management.