Cabinet and line ministers have been accused of dragging their feet with the appointment of boards of directors for a number of state-owned enterprises, some of which have been operating without a board for months.

Temporary boards are seen as risky as many cannot take long-term decisions, while others play it safe on certain issues, hoping substantive boards are better suited to handle such matters.

Boards play a central function in the corporate governance and performance of parastatals. They have the ultimate responsibility, including through their fiduciary duty, to develop corporate strategies and oversee an entity’s performance.

Cabinet has also come under fire for allegedly failing to enforce its own resolution that no sitting CEO of a parastatal should be allowed to serve on the board of another parastatal.

Currently, Namibia Revenue Agency CEO Sam Shivute serves as board chair for the National Housing Enterprise (NHE), while Mihe Gaomab, the CEO of the Namibia Industrial Development Agency, doubles as Fishcor’s board chairperson.

Meanwhile, many of the institutions under the higher education ministry are currently in limbo, with the tenure of their board of directors having expired. This while the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund’s (NSFAF) board of directors had its tenure extended to the end of the year.

The tenure of the University of Namibia (Unam) council ended in October 2021 and an ‘interim board’ was appointed by higher education minister Dr Itah Kandji-Murangi.

Submissions of shortlisted candidates have been collecting dust at the ministry.

It said plans are underway to submit to Cabinet the shortlists of potential candidates for the boards of the Namibia Qualifications Authority and the National Council of Higher Education in the coming weeks.

Difference of opinion

The ministry also pointed out that the recruitment processes for these boards already started between one and two years ago.

This was confirmed by higher education ministry executive director Dr Alfred van Kent, who said they received these submissions from the ministry of public enterprises about a month ago.

“The submissions for the NSFAF board are also going to Cabinet; they are on her [the minister’s] table. There was issue or difference of opinion at some point between her and the minister of public enterprises Iipumbu Shiimi, but that has now been resolved,” he said.

Furthermore, the term of the current Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) board of directors – appointed on 1 July 2019 – ends on Thursday, 30 June 2022, but has been extended for another four months.

“The term of the CRAN board of directors was due to end on 30 June. However, Dr Peya Mushelenga, minister of information and communication technology, has extended their term for a further four months to allow the recruitment and selection process of a new board of directors to be finalised,” CRAN CEO Emilia Nghikembua said.

Sport minister Agnes Tjongarero recently announced the appointment of an interim board for the Namibia Sports Commission for the next six months, after a public fallout with the previous board.

Just a week ago, the ministry of public enterprises announced a term extension of the Namibia Wildlife Resort’s board on a temporary basis, from 15 June until 14 December.

jemima@namibiansun.com