The ||Kharas Regional Council has appointed Megameno Shikongo as its acting chief regional officer (CRO) for three months, pending the appointment of a substantive CRO.
The announcement of the appointment was made during a media briefing by ||Kharas Regional Council chairperson Gerrit Witbooi at Keetmanshoop on Wednesday.
The appointment of Shikongo follows on the arrest of former acting CRO Ralph Sachika and his girlfriend, Lucia Jacob, by the police on Monday.
The couple appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud, forgery, money laundering and corruption on Tuesday.
Witbooi says with the appointment of Shikongo and the ongoing process to appoint a substantive CRO the regional council wants to assure the community of the ||Kharas region and the nation at large that there is stability at the council and that service delivery will not be hampered.
“We want to assure you that council is here to ensure administrative challenges are being handled and that the people who are expecting services from us will not be disappointed and lose their trust in us,” Witbooi said.
Shikongo currently holds the position of deputy director of rural services in the council.
Witbooi says the CRO position was advertised and two candidates were interviewed two weeks ago.
They are Sophia Eises, current chief executive of the Municipality of Gobabis, and Albert Nicanor, former chief executive of the Namibian Society of Composers and Authors of Music (Nascam).
“Currently we are waiting to hear from the Pubic Service Commission. Our aim is to make the appointment by 1 April,” Witbooi said.
The charges against Sachika stem from an alleged payment of N$2.9 million meant for the company August 26 Construction, that Sachika reportedly authorised to be paid to an account of the close corporation Tushiko Investments CC.
About N$700 000 of this money was reportedly paid to a bank account of Lucia Jacob and then allegedly
found its way into the bank account of the two-year-old daughter of Jacob and Sachika.
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