THE Katima Mulilo Town Council has laid 44 misconduct-related charges against chief executive officer (CEO) Raphael Liswaniso.
Liswaniso was suspended in October without salary and benefits, pending an internal investigation.
According to the charge sheet seen by The Namibian yesterday, he is charged in terms of the Local Authorities Act and the Personnel Rules of the Katima Mulilo Town Council of 2010.
The charges are dereliction of duty (three), insubordination (eight), gross abuse of authority (two), dereliction of duty/gross negligence (17), causing financial loss to council/gross abuse of authority (two), failure to follow procurement procedures (five), corruption/gross abuse of authority (five), misrepresentation (one), and dereliction of duty/insubordination (one).
Liswaniso yesterday confirmed that he has been served the charges and has studied them.
He, however, declined to comment on the charges.
The suspended CEO is expected to appear in a disciplinary hearing from 12 January to 16 January to answer to the misconduct-related charges.
According to the charge sheet, Liswaniso is accused of chairing an interviewing panel between 22 and 23 July 2021, where two unqualified council employees of the council were interviewed for the positions of head of the community and local economic development department and head of the human capital department.
Liswaniso further stands accused of implementing a staff realignment process without consulting council staff, the line ministry, the relevant trade union, and the functional grading and wage committee between 10 August 2021 and 24 September last year.
He is further accused of unlawfully appointing numerous staff members in acting capacities between 2019 and 2023 for an indefinite period and also failed to ensure that these vacancies are filled.
Liswaniso is accused of conducting unlawful promotions of staff members to higher positions over the years, while knowing that the Local Authorities Act makes no provision for automatic promotion.
Last June, Liswaniso was accused of unlawfully awarding a Chinese-owned company a tender worth N$200 000 to procure goods for the town council guest house without complying with the Public Procurement Act.
Similarly, in April last year, Liswaniso allegedly unlawfully awarded a tender for the procurement of a 20-tonne roller compactor and authorised the payment of N$1.8 million without ensuring that the bidder had duly complied and supplied the equipment.
In January 2024, the same company that was awarded the above-mentioned tenders was also unlawfully awarded a tender worth N$27 000 for the supply of gravel for a road project.
According to the charge sheet, Liswaniso allegedly unlawfully awarded another tender of N$39 000 to level a client’s plot at the Choto area in August 2023.
Liswaniso is also charged for selling land without contracts and exchanging land for vehicles without ministerial approval.
It’s alleged that he intentionally sold eight plots of land belonging to the town council to a Chinese-owned company on 16 April last year via a council resolution, which authorised the sale of two of the plots only.
He allegedly also reduced the price of three plots by 50%, contrary to a council resolution that authorised the plots to be sold at N$3.7 million in February 2022.
The Katima Mulilo Town Council’s troubles started when minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa dissolved it in August due to alleged maladministration and the failure to implement his directives.
Sankwasa revealed that after he dismissed the council, he conducted an audit into its affairs, during which a web of corruption, favouritism and mismanagement was uncovered.
In November, the council also suspended Patrick Lilungwe, the manager of legal, bilateral relations, and corporate services.
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