WINDHOEK councillors are playing hide-and-seek with minister of local government Charles Namoloh after defying his order to restart the process to search for the City’s new chief executive officer.
The councillors are insisting that the minister has no jurisdiction over the municipality regarding the appointment of the CEO.
Namoloh wrote a strongly-worded letter to councillors directing them to hold their horses and restart the recruitment process for the CEO because the one in place had several flaws such as the credibility of the interviewing panel.
Namoloh called the municipality to order after The Namibian exposed the dodgy recruitment process led by Swapo councillors who wanted to appoint Bank of Namibia spokesperson Ndangi Katoma through dubious ways.
The minister wrote to mayor Muese Kazapua on 12 December 2014, directing the municipality to re-advertise the CEO position and follow good governance rules.
“Firstly, the three councillors who conducted the interview or any councillor (for that matter) cannot constitute a credible interview committee,” Namoloh wrote in the letter.
The panel of three politicians consisted of Moses Shiikwa, the chairperson of the management committee of the Windhoek council; former mayor Elaine Trepper and the deputy mayor, Mwadhina Veico.
The previous interview panel included controversial former mayor Agnes Kafula and former CEO Niilo Taapopi.
Shiikwa wrote to Namoloh on 3 December 2014 asking for the minister to approve the appointment of Katoma.
Namoloh responded by lecturing the councillors about how things should be done.
The minister said the interview committee must comprise people who are technically and managerially knowledgeable in the subject matter such as former chief executive officers or managing directors of companies or permanent secretaries.
Namoloh told Kazapua that the technical committee would then recommend the most successful candidate to the municipal council through the management committee for the appointment of the CEO.
“The council cannot make the appointment before the minister pronounces himself on the matter meaning that the appointment is kept in abeyance pending the council’s consultation with the minister,” Namoloh warned.
Namoloh asked the municipality to follow governance procedures and asked for council resolutions, a copy of the vacancy advert, minutes of the shortlisting meeting and minutes of the interview committee.
The minister also demanded that the municipality provides him with the list of all the applicants, the shortlist and CVs of the shortlisted candidates and other relevant documents.
“On the basis of the above mentioned shortcomings and the bad publicity this exercise (recruitment of the CEO) has received, I direct that the post be re-advertised and the process be conducted as I have outlined above,” Namoloh said.
The recruitment processes of the CEO last year was tainted by deliberate delays and allegations of nepotism such that some people were dropped from the early stages to give a chance to those who would sing to the tune of the municipal councillors.
Some councillors have been accused of squeezing through candidates shortly before the interviews.
The intervention by Namoloh will be good news to the public and councillors who have been calling for a better recruitment process for the head of the municipality, which is crippled by housing and land troubles.
Several councillors who opposed the current tainted recruitment process have called for an independent body to carry out the recruitment in order to avoid a situation where councillors become kingmakers.
Windhoek mayor Kazapua wrote on 12 January 2015 asking to meet Namoloh to discuss a clause in the Traditional Authority Act which he said gives councillors the authority to select the chief executive officer.
Namoloh told The Namibian on Tuesday that his directives for a restart of the search for the new CEO still stands despite the upcoming meeting with the councillors.
Windhoek mayor Kazapua tried to downplay the order by the minister to restart the search for the new CEO saying he was not aware of it and that their process was fair.The municipal bosses are insisting that legally, Namoloh does not have jurisdiction over the Windhoek municipality.
“The city was merely consulting the line minister on the filling of the chief executive officer post,” a confidential management committee document of 20 January this year reads.
It remains unclear whether the municipality will heed the calls by Namoloh to restart the process of recruiting a new CEO.
The Namibian has in the past reported how the municipality under former mayor Kafula ignored Namoloh’s directive on a disputed land deal.
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