Minister blocks appointment of proposed Agribank CEO

FINANCE Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has rejected a Board decision to appoint Maureen Hinda as Chief Executive Officer of Agribank, and has given instructions that the post be re-advertised.

Kuugongelwa-Amadhila wrote to the Board of the Agricultural Bank of Namibia this week telling them she would not agree to their choice of a CEO. She did not give reasons for her refusal to “concur” with the Board’s choice.The Agribank Act requires that the Ministers of Finance and Agriculture “concur” for the appointment to be final.The Minister yesterday declined to explain why she had rejected the appointment, except to say that procedures needed to be followed.”What we are saying is that we are trying to finalise the process,” she said, adding that there were “small things we will handle between ourselves and the bank and… we should be able to produce a CEO very soon”.Sources told The Namibian earlier that Kuugongelwa-Amadhila had raised questions about the way Hinda, a member of the Board, was appointed.Asked whether Hinda’s board membership had made her turn down the appointment, the Minister said: “There is nothing that prohibits the board members from applying.”Hinda said yesterday that she had informed Kuugongelwa-Amadhila before she applied and had excluded herself from “the process” [dealing with the appointment].Relations between the Minister and the Board, which has previously complained that she was interfering too much in the running of the bank, have been strained since she began indicating, towards the end of last year, that she was not happy with Hinda’s appointment.Sources say the Finance Minister may also have been upset by reports that Hinda allegedly “lobbied” her comrades in Swapo by raising the question of whether her ethnic background had weighed too heavily against her and caused Kuugongelwa-Amadhila to be cool towards her.Hinda is an active Swapo member and some in the ruling party argue that this is a prerequisite for heading a parastatal or taking up a high profile Government job.This will be the third time since last year that the job will be advertised.In January, former CEO Tjeripo Hijarunguru was forced out of office after the Board refused to extend his contract at the end of December.Shihaleni Ndjaba, who was sent from the Ministry of Finance as Acting CEO for three months while the confusion was being sorted out, has reportedly been asked to stay on for another two months.Agribank Board chair Dr Franz Stellmacher was not available for comment.She did not give reasons for her refusal to “concur” with the Board’s choice.The Agribank Act requires that the Ministers of Finance and Agriculture “concur” for the appointment to be final.The Minister yesterday declined to explain why she had rejected the appointment, except to say that procedures needed to be followed.”What we are saying is that we are trying to finalise the process,” she said, adding that there were “small things we will handle between ourselves and the bank and… we should be able to produce a CEO very soon”.Sources told The Namibian earlier that Kuugongelwa-Amadhila had raised questions about the way Hinda, a member of the Board, was appointed.Asked whether Hinda’s board membership had made her turn down the appointment, the Minister said: “There is nothing that prohibits the board members from applying.”Hinda said yesterday that she had informed Kuugongelwa-Amadhila before she applied and had excluded herself from “the process” [dealing with the appointment].Relations between the Minister and the Board, which has previously complained that she was interfering too much in the running of the bank, have been strained since she began indicating, towards the end of last year, that she was not happy with Hinda’s appointment.Sources say the Finance Minister may also have been upset by reports that Hinda allegedly “lobbied” her comrades in Swapo by raising the question of whether her ethnic background had weighed too heavily against her and caused Kuugongelwa-Amadhila to be cool towards her.Hinda is an active Swapo member and some in the ruling party argue that this is a prerequisite for heading a parastatal or taking up a high profile Government job.This will be the third time since last year that the job will be advertised.In January, former CEO Tjeripo Hijarunguru was forced out of office after the Board refused to extend his contract at the end of December.Shihaleni Ndjaba, who was sent from the Ministry of Finance as Acting CEO for three months while the confusion was being sorted out, has reportedly been asked to stay on for another two months.Agribank Board chair Dr Franz Stellmacher was not available for comment.