Several dismissed Namibia Airports Company board members plan to appeal to president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah over transport minister Veikko Nekundi’s alleged unauthorised interference and sudden firing of the board.
The minister of works and transport fired five Namibia Airports Company (NAC) board members this week over allegations linked to the selling of vehicles to executives at a cut price of N$5 000 just after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Board members claim the N$5 000 buyout was taken out of context, especially since it includes the forfeiting of the employees vehicle scheme, saving the parastatal over N$40 million.
The board claims the minister failed to consider the fact that the company went from loss-making to profitable, paying the state dividends.
Some fear the saga has turned into a witch-hunt on executives.
It appears Nekundi was determined to remove the board members.
Last week, he allegedly asked board members to explain why they should not be removed from the NAC board.
Board member Matthew //Gowaseb wrote to Nekundi yesterday, questioning his legal authority to appoint or remove members of the airport company’s board.
//Gowaseb was fired along with Elizabeth Peterson, Lucien Mouton, Carol Williams and Ferdinand Nghiyolwa.
Some board members are considering taking legal action against Nekundi, while others feel it would be a waste of time.
They are, however, considering appealing to the president to avoid a precedent of ministerial interference in parastatals.
//Gowaseb’s response, obtained by The Namibian, provides insight into what the board told Nekundi.
The former Namibian Broadcasting Corporation director general says Nekundi does not have any legal authority over the parastatal. He says under the Public Enterprises Governance Act, only the minister responsible for public enterprises has the authority to appoint or remove board members of commercial public enterprises.
However, after the ministry responsible for public enterprises was disbanded last year, state-owned enterprises fell under their respective line ministries.
“It was with deep disappointment that I considered the contents of the notice [to show cause] and it seemed to me to be a rebuke of the successful turnaround strategy the board achieved during my tenure as a director,” he writes.
//Gowaseb defends the fired board’s record, saying it turned heavy losses into sustained profitability during its tenure.
“The board was instrumental, together with management, in achieving this phenomenal turnaround at the company,” he says.
//Gowaseb says any decision taken during his tenure as a board director did not compromise NAC’s governance integrity or violated the governance and performance agreements concluded under the Public Enterprises Governance Act.
“The minister simply does not have the requisite legal authority for this cause of action,” he says.
Nekundi did not respond to calls yesterday.
He, however, sent a text message saying: “Sorry, I have been busy. I requested related records. I will revert soonest.”
He has not responded at the time of going to print.
Nekundi allegedly appointed the transport ministry’s chief internal auditor, Lineekela Joseph, to investigate matters at the NAC.
This is how he ended up uncovering the N$5 000 car sales for executives.
A board member this week told The Namibian it appears the investigation arose from allegations certain NAC staff members who wrote to the minister made, prompting the decision to investigate the matters raised.
The board, at the time, felt it should not interfere with the day-to-day operations of the NAC, including individual staff appointments, acting allowances, routine human-resource administration, and procurement processes.
In a statement yesterday, the former board members express “profound dismay and concern” over their removal following an investigation into allegations against them.
They say they cooperated with the investigation, provided written responses and submitted supporting documents, but disagreed with the conclusion the minister reached.
“We reject those conclusions,” the former board members say.
The ex-board claims it inherited an institution facing financial challenges, worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It says the NAC recorded losses of N$111.7 million in the 2020/21 financial year and N$93.7 million in 2021/22.
The board says the NAC later returned to profitability of about N$19.4 million in 2022/23 and N$40.8 million in 2023/24.
They claim the parastatal achieved four consecutive unqualified audit opinions, reduced legal disputes, maintained airport certifications and completed infrastructure projects, including the N$250 million Hosea Kutako International Airport congestion alleviation project.
“These results are not consistent with a board that abandoned its fiduciary responsibility,” the members say.
