TransNamib loses another bout in court

TRANSNAMIB has lost yet another round in its protracted battle against one of its senior managers forced out of the transport parastatal more than two years ago.

The District Labour Court instructed TransNamib on May 16 2005 to pay former senior manager Bernhardt !Gaeb N$468 200 but the company filed an urgent application three days later to stay the order until their appeal against the order was heard. When there were delays in the appeal hearing, !Gaeb’s lawyer Jeff Tjitemisa went back to the High Court to ask that TransNamib’s appeal be dismissed since it was only a delaying tactic.TransNamib went back to the court on July 7 last year – a year after the first order – to ask for another postponement claiming that the Office of the Registrar had not notified them in writing and that they were thus not ready to resume with the case.The appeal hearing was set down for July 7 but Albert Strydom, acting on instruction of Shikongo Chambers, asked for a postponement of the case.He told Acting Judge Annel Silungwe, sitting in his capacity as President of the Labour Court, that the Registrar’s Office was supposed to set down the procedural steps, including informing them in writing about the date but that they did not get the written notice.Geoffrey Dicks, acting on instruction of Jeff Tjitemisa, on the other hand, argued that they were all present when the Office of the Registrar set down the case.He accused TransNamib of employing delaying tactics so that his client (!Gaeb) would suffer financially and drop the case.On Wednesday this week Acting Judge Silungwe said the hearing date (July 7) was mutually agreed between lawyers of TransNamib and !Gaeb.”The applicant (TransNamib) had ample time within which to prepare a properly motivated and substantive application for postponement, supported by an affidavit, but failed to do so,” Silungwe said.”The postponement was not merely for the asking.I have no hesitation in finding that the application for postponement was untenable.”He said TransNamib was aware of the date of appeal hearing and it was incumbent upon its lawyers to timeously make an enquiry with the Office of the Registrar about the time but opted not to do so.He dismissed TransNamib’s plea for another postponement with costs and called on the two parties to arrange a date for the hearing with the Office of the Registrar.!Gaeb resigned in January 2005 following an alleged witch-hunt against former managers assigned to a project to turn around TransNamib’s financial position.They were not reinstated in their former positions after the project was completed.The other former TransNamib managers are Moses Mbai, Gothard !Howaeb and Erenfried ‘Tjivi’ Ndjoonduezu.They were all found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary hearing and subsequently took the company to court.However, he took his case to the District Labour Court which ordered TransNamib to pay him the N$468 200.The Labour Court also ordered the transport parastatal to reinstate Ndjoonduezu and to backdate his salary to December 2004.In addition, the company was asked to refund his study fees and pay him three months’ salary for damages incurred during the suspension and money deducted illegally from his salary.In Mbai’s case the company offered to reinstate him and the case was settled out of court.When there were delays in the appeal hearing, !Gaeb’s lawyer Jeff Tjitemisa went back to the High Court to ask that TransNamib’s appeal be dismissed since it was only a delaying tactic.TransNamib went back to the court on July 7 last year – a year after the first order – to ask for another postponement claiming that the Office of the Registrar had not notified them in writing and that they were thus not ready to resume with the case. The appeal hearing was set down for July 7 but Albert Strydom, acting on instruction of Shikongo Chambers, asked for a postponement of the case.He told Acting Judge Annel Silungwe, sitting in his capacity as President of the Labour Court, that the Registrar’s Office was supposed to set down the procedural steps, including informing them in writing about the date but that they did not get the written notice.Geoffrey Dicks, acting on instruction of Jeff Tjitemisa, on the other hand, argued that they were all present when the Office of the Registrar set down the case.He accused TransNamib of employing delaying tactics so that his client (!Gaeb) would suffer financially and drop the case.On Wednesday this week Acting Judge Silungwe said the hearing date (July 7) was mutually agreed between lawyers of TransNamib and !Gaeb.”The applicant (TransNamib) had ample time within which to prepare a properly motivated and substantive application for postponement, supported by an affidavit, but failed to do so,” Silungwe said.”The postponement was not merely for the asking.I have no hesitation in finding that the application for postponement was untenable.”He said TransNamib was aware of the date of appeal hearing and it was incumbent upon its lawyers to timeously make an enquiry with the Office of the Registrar about the time but opted not to do so.He dismissed TransNamib’s plea for another postponement with costs and called on the two parties to arrange a date for the hearing with the Office of the Registrar.!Gaeb resigned in January 2005 following an alleged witch-hunt against former managers assigned to a project to turn around TransNamib’s financial position.They were not reinstated in their former positions after the project was completed.The other former TransNamib managers are Moses Mbai, Gothard !Howaeb and Erenfried ‘Tjivi’ Ndjoonduezu.They were all found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary hearing and subsequently took the company to court.However, he took his case to the District Labour Court which ordered TransNamib to pay him the N$468 200.The Labour Court also ordered the transport parastatal to reinstate Ndjoonduezu and to backdate his salary to December 2004.In addition, the company was asked to refund his study fees and pay him three months’ salary for damages incurred during the suspension and money deducted illegally from his salary.In Mbai’s case the company offered to reinstate him and the case was settled out of court.