NBC Director General suspended

THE Namibian Broadcasting Corporation’s board of directors yesterday suspended the institution’s Director General, Gerry Munyama. The decision, which took immediate effect, followed an urgent board session where, according to chairperson Ponhele Ya France, the board uncovered “some irregularities in the management of the corporation”.

Although Ya France would not elaborate on what these irregularities were, he stated that the board believed the Director General to have been involved in “serious misconduct”. “The board therefore decided to suspend Comrade Gerry Wilson Munyama with immediate effect in accordance with the NBC disciplinary code,” he said.Munyama has been suspended with full pay.In the meantime, Ya France is acting in the capacity of Director General for the corporation.Senior staff at the NBC confirmed to The Namibian yesterday that they were called in at around 11h30 and informed that the Director General had been suspended.Ya France moved into the office immediately, and will remain there while the Executive Committee formulates charges against Munyama.He will face a disciplinary hearing.Contacted for comment yesterday, Munyama told The Namibian that he believed the situation to be a mistake that would be resolved in due time.”I give my full support to the board, and I have informed my staff to as well.There was no dismissal, no charges,” he said.”They just want breathing space to conduct their investigation without any interference.”He said the NBC was going through a difficult period financially, and that he had discussed this issue with Government at a meeting of parastatals on Monday night.On Monday, Munyama told Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila that he believed State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) should be categorised according the kind of service they provide.He likened the NBC to a hospital, saying it was a social institution.”Is the NBC an enterprise? We operate on a budget we do not have,” he said.”We [are said] to abuse funds we do not even have”.He said often the NBC was forced to send its journalists to cover the trips of the President whether the corporation had the money to do so or not.”The demands are greater than the resources at our disposal,” complained Munyama.In response, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said it was undisputed that the NBC was not adequately funded, but then so too were many other Government departments.”The unfortunate situation is that the money available to all of us is just not enough,” she told him, adding that the kind of service delivery an SOE rendered was not the only basis on which the Treasury determined the amount of funding it received from the State.”The board therefore decided to suspend Comrade Gerry Wilson Munyama with immediate effect in accordance with the NBC disciplinary code,” he said.Munyama has been suspended with full pay.In the meantime, Ya France is acting in the capacity of Director General for the corporation.Senior staff at the NBC confirmed to The Namibian yesterday that they were called in at around 11h30 and informed that the Director General had been suspended.Ya France moved into the office immediately, and will remain there while the Executive Committee formulates charges against Munyama. He will face a disciplinary hearing.Contacted for comment yesterday, Munyama told The Namibian that he believed the situation to be a mistake that would be resolved in due time.”I give my full support to the board, and I have informed my staff to as well.There was no dismissal, no charges,” he said.”They just want breathing space to conduct their investigation without any interference.”He said the NBC was going through a difficult period financially, and that he had discussed this issue with Government at a meeting of parastatals on Monday night.On Monday, Munyama told Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila that he believed State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) should be categorised according the kind of service they provide.He likened the NBC to a hospital, saying it was a social institution.”Is the NBC an enterprise? We operate on a budget we do not have,” he said.”We [are said] to abuse funds we do not even have”.He said often the NBC was forced to send its journalists to cover the trips of the President whether the corporation had the money to do so or not.”The demands are greater than the resources at our disposal,” complained Munyama.In response, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said it was undisputed that the NBC was not adequately funded, but then so too were many other Government departments.”The unfortunate situation is that the money available to all of us is just not enough,” she told him, adding that the kind of service delivery an SOE rendered was not the only basis on which the Treasury determined the amount of funding it received from the State.

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