Kandetu axing sign of sick NBC: Misa

THE Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) is a ‘broadcaster at war with itself’ because of political interference, and the dismissal of Bob Kandetu as Director General shows that management, transparency and accountability are ‘in shambles’, the Media Institute of Southern Africa said yesterday.

The Misa statement was issued a few minutes before the NBC’s board of directors announced that they had appointed Andrew Kanime as acting Director General for the next three months.Kanime is Telecom Namibia’s General Manager for Human Resources and Strategic Training.Misa’s Regional Director Kaitira Kandjii said the NBC is in a state of ‘total collapse’ with ‘management and leadership in shambles’ because of political interference, no proper guidelines on editorial independence and lack of mechanisms for accountability.He said the NBC needs a complete overhaul starting with the appointment of the board.’There is an urgent need to transform the NBC into a public broadcaster (from State broadcaster) through an act of Parliament that clearly states that the role of the NBC is to serve all citizens of Namibia in their diversity,’ Kandjii said.He said the act must also clearly spell out that the NBC’s reporting and programming should aim to ‘advance the socio-economic and political interest of all Namibians in their diversity’.Misa said the sacking of Kandetu followed a myriad of challenges facing the broadcasting parastatal in carrying out its mandate.’The board of NBC should represent the wide sectoral interests of all Namibians and should be depoliticised. Equally such a board would have power to appoint senior staff on the basis of professional competence,’ Kandjii said.On their part, he said, the board must be appointed through nomination by citizens to a select parliamentary committee which will review its work on an annual basis and receive reports on how the NBC is fulfilling its public mandate.They want the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to spearhead the policy changes.Kandjii said Kandetu’s axing has sent ‘a bad signal’ to the world about the country’s democracy.’We shouldn’t change DGs the way we change our suits,’ Kandjii said.The NBC board said they fired Kandetu because of incompetence but the former DG vowed to fight them, claiming proper procedures were not followed.It is a well-known fact that the board had instructions from ‘high up’ to get rid of Kandetu because of his alleged links to the Rally for Democracy and Progress opposition party.He was the campaign manager of RDP president Hidipo Hamutenya when Hamutenya was still in Swapo and was campaigning to become the party’s presidential candidate in 2004.Hamutenya has since resigned from Swapo but Kandetu remains a member of the ruling party. christof@namibian.com.na

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.