Heavyweights compete for top City post

TWO Permanent Secretaries are among a host of candidates vying to be Chief Executive Officer of the City of Windhoek.

Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Niilo Taapopi’s name features on a list of 27 candidates who have applied for the position which was left vacant by the departure of Martin Shipanga in November. His counterpart in the Ministry of Regional and Local Government and Housing, Erastus Negonga, has not applied but is rumoured to be the candidate of choice among some in the top hierarchy of the Swapo Party.Negonga said he was not interested in the job and had not applied.”It is news to me,” he responded when approached for comment.”I am not aware of that.Those are purely rumours and I don’t like that.It is just wishful thinking by some people.These are the ways people create stories”.Taapopi is on an official trip outside Namibia but has confirmed to NBC TV that he applied for the job.Apart from the two Permanent Secretaries, two Municipal employees have applied for the post: Uazuva Kaumbi, who heads the Waste Water Management Division, and George Mayumbelo, Strategic Executive for Public Safety and Emergency Services.Other hopefuls include the Director of Sport in the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture, Dr.Vetumbuavi Veii; Chief Executive Officer of Premier Electric, Festus Lameck; Labour Commissioner Bro-Matthew Shinguadja; Telecom Namibia’s General Manager for Pay Phones, Sakaria Nghikembua; Under Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, George Simataa; Kalahari Holdings Managing Director Alfred N.Kashume; former Amalgamated Commercial Holdings (Amcom) Managing Director Ben Siambango; former RCC Chief Executive Officer Farhad Nadimi; former New Era Managing Director Sankwasa James Sankwasa; and Road Fund Administration Chief Executive Officer Shakespeare Masiza.Some of the candidates approached by The Namibian to comment on how they intended to make the City a better place said they would like to keep their cards close to their chest.”It is quite premature to comment now,” said Kaumbi.Sources claimed that Taapopi’s application arrived a few days after the closing date.It is believed that there are those in Government who favour Taapopi who they would like to see get the City Police up and running.The list of the candidates was supposed to be trimmed to a short list on Friday before potential candidates are called in for a psychometric test and interviews.Former CEO Martin Shipanga resigned with one year left of his term.He cited personal reasons and subsequently joined the Commercial Bank of Namibia as its new CEO.His counterpart in the Ministry of Regional and Local Government and Housing, Erastus Negonga, has not applied but is rumoured to be the candidate of choice among some in the top hierarchy of the Swapo Party. Negonga said he was not interested in the job and had not applied. “It is news to me,” he responded when approached for comment. “I am not aware of that. Those are purely rumours and I don’t like that. It is just wishful thinking by some people. These are the ways people create stories”. Taapopi is on an official trip outside Namibia but has confirmed to NBC TV that he applied for the job. Apart from the two Permanent Secretaries, two Municipal employees have applied for the post: Uazuva Kaumbi, who heads the Waste Water Management Division, and George Mayumbelo, Strategic Executive for Public Safety and Emergency Services. Other hopefuls include the Director of Sport in the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture, Dr. Vetumbuavi Veii; Chief Executive Officer of Premier Electric, Festus Lameck; Labour Commissioner Bro-Matthew Shinguadja; Telecom Namibia’s General Manager for Pay Phones, Sakaria Nghikembua; Under Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, George Simataa; Kalahari Holdings Managing Director Alfred N. Kashume; former Amalgamated Commercial Holdings (Amcom) Managing Director Ben Siambango; former RCC Chief Executive Officer Farhad Nadimi; former New Era Managing Director Sankwasa James Sankwasa; and Road Fund Administration Chief Executive Officer Shakespeare Masiza. Some of the candidates approached by The Namibian to comment on how they intended to make the City a better place said they would like to keep their cards close to their chest. “It is quite premature to comment now,” said Kaumbi. Sources claimed that Taapopi’s application arrived a few days after the closing date. It is believed that there are those in Government who favour Taapopi who they would like to see get the City Police up and running. The list of the candidates was supposed to be trimmed to a short list on Friday before potential candidates are called in for a psychometric test and interviews. Former CEO Martin Shipanga resigned with one year left of his term. He cited personal reasons and subsequently joined the Commercial Bank of Namibia as its new CEO.