Meatco’s beef with Jooste

SHINOVENE IMMANUEL and CHARMAINE NGATJIHEUENAMIBIA’S national meat company is facing another power struggle, including allegations that the public enterprise ministry has opted to sideline representatives of northern communal farmers.

At the heart of this saga is the appointment of the new Meatco board and allegations that public enterprises minister Leon Jooste is pushing for a certain candidate. Jooste denied any wrongdoing, insisting that he is following the law, and promised to investigate how the state-owned agency recorded a N$100 million loss by February 2020.

Cabinet documents show that the following people have been appointed as Meatco board members as from 1 May 2020: Mesag Mulunga (agriculture ministry), Cloretha Garises (Meatco), Usiel Seauakouje Kandjii (communal farmer), Kay-Dieter Rumpf (commercial farmer), Clara Bohitile and Johannes ‘Johnnie’ Hamman, who is poised for the chairperson’s position.

Hamman is the former managing director of Safari Hotels.

Several people have written to prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila on Meatco’s troubles since February this year.

The latest was written by Adolf Muremi who represents northern communal farmers – north of the veterinary cordon fence known as the red line.

“For over 20 years now, the interest of farmers who are located north of the red line have been under-represented to the extent that they have very little access to national, regional and international markets for their livestock and livestock products,” Muremi wrote to Kuugongelwa-Amadhila on 24 April 2020.

He said they have been sidelined, compared to their counterparts south of the red line who have benefited from access to Meatco’s abattoirs and markets.

Muremi cited the Meatco law that allows farmers from across the country – who are members of the national meat company – to submit names of candidates to the agriculture minister.

“The minister then selects the candidates to represent the interests of either communal farmers, commercial farmers, experts, etc,” Muremi said.

The representative said one of their main concerns is the removal of Meatco’s acting board chairperson Ronald Kubas from the incoming board.

“Of concern to the northern communal area (NCA) farmers is that the candidate initially submitted to Cabinet, Ronald Kubas, has been replaced by another candidate, Johannes Hamman,” Muremi said.

His removal, Muremi said, was an indication of years of sidelining of farmers north of the red line.

“NCA does not and will not have representation on the Meatco board for the next three years. We fail to understand the legal basis of the process being followed,” he said.

Muremi was unreachable for comment.

Jooste denied suggestions that he pushed for Hamman’s appointment.

He said the board is appointed according to the Meatco Act that prescribes its composition and that members (of Meatco) should be nominated at a members’ meeting.

“As a principle, it’s wrong for me to violate the outcome of that democratic process where preferred candidates were elected. Mr Kubas has already served two consecutive board terms and would not be considered. I proposed the highest scoring candidate for each category,” Jooste told The Namibian yesterday.

Agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein agreed to appoint Hamman as an expert on the board.

Jooste said he was tipped-off that the board was set to make resolutions that might prove detrimental to Meatco in the long run.

“I requested the outgoing board to refrain from taking such decisions. It also came to my attention that Meatco had broken the terms of their loan agreement with the bank and that this might have resulted in steps being taken by the bank,” Jooste said.

He said he consulted the finance ministry at the time to avoid punitive action by banks.

“Through intervention, this was prevented and no Meatco assets were attached. Further to this, I was informed that a N$30 million profit in December 2019 turned into a N$100 million loss by February 2020 which is extremely strange,” Jooste said.

“I will instruct an investigation into these various events,” the minister said.

This comes after the public enterprises minister sent a letter to Kubas on 12 February 2020 informing him that Meatco ‘now’ forms part of his ministry under the Public Enterprises Governance Act. That law came into force on 16 December.

The board chairperson said one of the decisions involved a N$500 million loan facility with a bank that needed to be paid at short notice, ‘which has put the entity at severe risk’.

“We were compelled to settle around N$200 million on these facilities, while under advice/directive by Hon. Jooste not to make strategic decisions,” he said.

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