NATIONAL Petroleum Corporation of Namibia managing director Immanuel Mulunga said he has apologised to the board of directors about his marital problems, and has now set his eyes on turning the oil parastatal into a N$4,5 billion entity.
“Yes, I have resolved the issues around my private life, and I have accepted the fact that holding a position such as that of Namcor managing director opens one to public scrutiny from all fronts,” he stated.
Mulunga spoke to last week about his one-year tenure at the parastatal; the challenges; his fragile relationship with his political bosses; and how he sees the company after 2020 when his five-year term ends.
His marital troubles went public in February this year when his wife Sonia returned from London and found another woman in their house. Before that, Mulunga had attended several events hosted by Malawi-born self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri, something which did not please some Cabinet ministers.
“As much as I believe the reports in the media for me to resign from my professional position due to the publicised events in my private life were rather unfortunate, I have taken the initiative to apologise to the board in private, and would like to do so again here for any potential harm that could have been caused to the Namcor brand by these media reports,” Mulunga said.
Sources said the board had told him to apologise.
reported in February this year that energy minister Obeth Kandjoze asked Mulunga to resign and be paid an exit package after his marital issues became public.
Mulunga refused to step down, but it remains unclear whether the two had resolved their differences which led to the breakdown of their 16-year friendship.
Asked if the relationship with the minister had improved, Mulunga said it is important that the relationship between the minister of energy and all stakeholders, including the Namcor managing director, remain positive to create an enabling environment for economic development.
He said Namcor values the relationship with the line minister highly, and believe they have the support of the government.
“It is going to be challenging for the company to make strides without the support of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, as the ministry has to sign off on some of our strategic business initiatives,” he noted.
Mulunga’s term ends in 2020. However, the tenure of the board which backed him ends before the end of this year.
The Namcor boss said he wants to turn Namcor into a N$ 4,5 billion company in the next five years, but that can only happen if projects such as the Kudu gas-to-power project and the 50% exclusive right to import petroleum are implemented.
“Even in the event that one or both of those projects do not come onstream, the management and myself have put in place aggressive strategic execution initiatives to make sure that this company will be a sizeable state-owned enterprise providing benefits to its shareholder,” he stressed.
Mulunga said although the national oil company has a young and dynamic workforce, it only enjoys a small market share of 8% of the commercial business, and nothing in the retail segment.
“The revocation of the 50% importation mandate in 2010 has limited the company’s trading opportunities, and the resultant state where it has to buy its refined petroleum products from its competitors,” he said.
Namcor believes that the reinstatement of the mandate and the construction of the N$4 billion storage facility at Walvis Bay will allow the company to grow its revenue in coming years, the managing director said.
He said Walvis Bay has an opportunity to become a storage and distribution hub for Southern Africa, and Namcor wants to use that opportunity to supply refined petroleum to countries such as Botswana, Zambia and even South Africa.
“Basically, in my opinion, the company is currently punching below its weight, and needs to be more aggressive in taking up some of these opportunities which present themselves locally and internationally,” Mulunga said.
