Natau guns for ousting of TransNamib CEO

CALLS for the axing of TransNamib Chief Executive Officer, John Shaetonhodi, have moved to a higher level with the former President, Sam Nujoma, having been pulled into the fray.

Leaders of the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW) and the Namibia Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Natau) met with Swapo President Sam Nujoma yesterday morning as their push intensified to oust Shaetonhodi from his high office. Natau, backed by NUNW at a press conference held yesterday, called for a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the affairs of TransNamib and the immediate removal of the Board and CEO.They want workers to be represented on the Presidential Commission through the NUNW.In February 2001 former President Nujoma had appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the Activities, Management and Operations of TransNamib which recommended six months later to Cabinet that the board be fired.An extra-ordinary Cabinet meeting endorsed this, following which the board was removed and a new one appointed.Natau President Dawid Tjombe, said the current board, appointed a year ago, had failed to act on time and must be given the boot.The Namibian established reliably that the team met with Nujoma to consult him about the procedures that had been followed to buy locomotives from China.TransNamib bought four locomotives from China and got an additional Government-backed loan of around N$200 million (Chinese Yuan 250 million) from the Export/ Import Bank of China to buy more locomotives from that country.However, the four locomotives have become a headache for the transport parastatal.Natau at the media briefing expressed their unhappiness over the “the chronic state of gross mismanagement” at TransNamib.Tjombe said the TransNamib executive have failed and the Board “seems to have colluded with the management in running the company into the ground”.He said Natau failed to understand why the Board was not acting against incompetent senior managers.The four locomotives from China, he added, had “chronic mechanical problems” resulting in huge financial losses for the company.”To make matters worse, none of the technicians or diesel fitters employed by TransNamib are equipped, whether through local training or in China, to service and maintain these locomotives,” Tjombe pointed out.He said the circuit diagram of the locomotives was written in Chinese making it impossible for local diesel fitters to work on them.”Compounding this problem is the fact that spare parts are not locally available,” he said.Due to the problems with the Chinese-made locomotives, Tjombe claimed, staff in that department were overworked but not paid overtime.According to him, the staff fail to do proper work because they do not get compensated for overtime.”It is indeed also this very same untenable situation which has given rise to what has become a daily occurrence where the employees keep resigning… at TransNamib,” the Natau leader said.Natau, backed by NUNW at a press conference held yesterday, called for a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the affairs of TransNamib and the immediate removal of the Board and CEO.They want workers to be represented on the Presidential Commission through the NUNW.In February 2001 former President Nujoma had appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the Activities, Management and Operations of TransNamib which recommended six months later to Cabinet that the board be fired.An extra-ordinary Cabinet meeting endorsed this, following which the board was removed and a new one appointed.Natau President Dawid Tjombe, said the current board, appointed a year ago, had failed to act on time and must be given the boot.The Namibian established reliably that the team met with Nujoma to consult him about the procedures that had been followed to buy locomotives from China. TransNamib bought four locomotives from China and got an additional Government-backed loan of around N$200 million (Chinese Yuan 250 million) from the Export/ Import Bank of China to buy more locomotives from that country. However, the four locomotives have become a headache for the transport parastatal.Natau at the media briefing expressed their unhappiness over the “the chronic state of gross mismanagement” at TransNamib.Tjombe said the TransNamib executive have failed and the Board “seems to have colluded with the management in running the company into the ground”.He said Natau failed to understand why the Board was not acting against incompetent senior managers.The four locomotives from China, he added, had “chronic mechanical problems” resulting in huge financial losses for the company.”To make matters worse, none of the technicians or diesel fitters employed by TransNamib are equipped, whether through local training or in China, to service and maintain these locomotives,” Tjombe pointed out.He said the circuit diagram of the locomotives was written in Chinese making it impossible for local diesel fitters to work on them.”Compounding this problem is the fact that spare parts are not locally available,” he said.Due to the problems with the Chinese-made locomotives, Tjombe claimed, staff in that department were overworked but not paid overtime.According to him, the staff fail to do proper work because they do not get compensated for overtime.”It is indeed also this very same untenable situation which has given rise to what has become a daily occurrence where the employees keep resigning… at TransNamib,” the Natau leader said.