Nghimtina still wants to fire AirNam board

WORKS and Transport Minister Erkki Nghimtina is expected to launch a renewed effort in Cabinet today to get rid of Air Namibia’s board.

In March this year, the minister was stopped in his tracks by his Cabinet colleagues when he tried to replace the board with people ‘with a high level of business acumen and skill-sets in the corporate and business world’.The Namibian has learnt that Nghimtina will again today propose the appointment of a new team to ensure that the airline’s finances are handled prudently over the next three years . The current board consists of Hinyangerwa Asheeke (chairperson), Lea Namholoh, Joe Shipepe, Goms Menette and Digu Naobeb.Nghimtina had to extend the board’s term of office until the end of June to reconsider their recommendation to appoint Theo Namases as the airline’s managing director, which had reached his office two weeks before his attempt to replace them. The reasons Nghimtina gave to Cabinet for the removal of the board included a performance evaluation which stated that the members did not address serious matters at Air Namibia which have been counter-productive to the operations of the company. Concerns have also been raised over the level of the board’s involvement in the monitoring of financial and organisational responsibilities, and ineffective monitoring of the company’s performance.It is expected that the minister will advance the same arguments this time around for the appointment of new board members, namely that Air Namibia needs board members with advanced business skills, leadership experience, knowledge of economics, logistics and the aviation industry, as well as legal expertise.Nghimtina in March nominated Harald Schmidt, Tim Ekandjo, Evelyn Zimba-Naris, Erastus Hoveka and Alois Johann Jonach, who is likely to be replaced by Florette Nakusera, a deputy director at the Bank of Namibia.In the meantime Namases has been appointed as the MD of Air Namibia, with the airline now seeking more new blood in its top management.