Ya France’s fate at NBC still unclear

THE chairperson of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation Board, Ponhele ya France, says he remains in his position despite a recommendation forwarded by his colleagues to the Minister of Information to dismiss him.

Ya France told The Namibian yesterday from his village in the North, where he is on holiday, that he has answered to the charges forwarded to him through his lawyers Metcalfe Legal Practitioners, and that he is still awaiting the outcome of his response.
Information Minister Joel Kaapanda had given him the charges to which he responded more than a month ago, he said.
Earlier, the Board decided to ignore a letter send to them by Ya France’s lawyers, who requested more detail on the charges put to their client as well as an extension of the deadline for reply.
The Board passed a vote of no confidence and gave Ya France 48 hours to respond to ‘several burning issues’ before making a final move.
They accused Ya France of ‘unbecoming behaviour’ after newspaper reports in which he claimed to have been dismissed by Kaapanda.
They also claimed that Ya France went on an unauthorised trip to the Ohangwena Region and claimed subsistence and travel allowances. Another allegedly unauthorised trip was the one to the Heroes’ Day celebrations in August 2007 for which he had claimed allowances of N$7,24 per kilometre – amounting to a whopping N$11 584.
Earlier, acting Board chairperson Frieda Shimbuli said claims by Ya France that he had been dismissed by Minister Kaapanda were proven to be wrong.
She said the Minister informed them that he had lost trust and confidence in Ya France after the chairperson went public with the claim.
She said the majority of the board members felt Ya France should have called an emergency meeting to discuss what transpired between him and the Minister.
When he failed to do that, the Board came to the conclusion that Ya France had undermined them.
Shimbuli said Ya France’s ‘media circus’ also showed he had no respect for the integrity of fellow board members.
She was referring to an earlier incident when an emotional Ya France informed the NBC television news crew that Kaapanda had dismissed him verbally on September 22 last year.
Although Kaapanda denied the claim, The Namibian reported on a secret Cabinet document which the Minister had prepared and which recommended Ya France’s dismissal because of irreconcilable differences.
Kaapanda had previously stated that Ya France was passing information to NBC Director General Bob Kandetu which the two of them had discussed in confidence.
According to him Ya France had ‘aligned’ himself with Kandetu and his observation was shared by members of the Board.
The Minister’s strategy was not to make any public announcement on Ya France’s dismissal once Cabinet had approved it.