By: Hertha Ekandjo
Chairperson of the management committee of the Walvis Bay municipality Richard Hoaeb says the the process of appointing a successful candidate for the position of a substantive CEO is 70% completed.
The coastal town has been without a CEO since November 2021 after the council opted not to renew former CEO Murunga Haingura’s contract when it ended shortly after he served a seven-month suspension alongside general manager of community affairs, Agustino Victor, housing and property manager, Jack Manale, and housing official Connie Summers when the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) started investigations into irregularities at the municipality.
Allegations are that approximately N$24 million of the State’s funds earmarked for a low cost housing development are unaccounted for.
Hoaeb said the short-listing committee was busy with the process of appointing the new CEO.
“In January there will be interviews but it is still in the administration’s hands and that will depend on the availability of the interview panels and the date scheduled. Council will only resume on the 24 or 25 January, and that is when they will receive the submission once the interview panels have made the decision,” he told The Villager.
He went on to say that they have received numerous applications, but added: “Unfortunately due to the fact that it is still an administrative matter, it is being kept confidential.”
Hoaeb said they did benchmarking with the Swakopmund and the Windhoek municipalities, as well as with Erongo Red, Namwater and Nampower in order not lower the requirements for the CEO position.
He dismissed allegations that the municipality had lowered the qualifications in order to appoint the Arandis CEO Stanley Norris for the position.
In an interview with Eagle FM, he said they are open to whoever applies for the position based on the outcomes from the interview panel.
Mayor of Walvis Bay Trevino Forbes told journalists in June last year that the council deemed it necessary to amend the job description to match it with that of Tier 1 municipalities such as Windhoek and Swakopmund, and the private sector companies.
Haingura and three other officials were suspended on 15 December 2020, to allow for investigations into the alleged lack of transparency in the allocation of construction of the Massive Urban Land Servicing Programme houses.
They were reinstated on 1 September 2021 while the ACC investigations were ongoing. However, a council resolution was taken not to renew his employment contract for a third term.
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