The appointment of the Under Secretary for State Accounts at the Finance Ministry – which has been vacant since February 2012 has been dragging because of misunderstandings between treasury bosses and Public Service Commission The Villager can reveal. Equally worrisome is President Pohamba’s lackluster approach to the appointment of a Deputy Minister at the ministry, a position that has been vacant for the past 19 months. A few names have been thrown in the hat although no appointments have been made by the Presidency. At the centre of the Under Secretary position’s debacle is the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry OF Finance , Ericah Shafudah, the Public Service Commission of Namibia (PSC) and two shortlisted applicants – one, Maru Tjihumino, the current Director for Expenditure and Finance at the same Ministry and another. The position has been vacant since the death of the late, Cecilia Kashikuka Ndishishi, wife of Health Permanent Secretary Andrew Ndishishi in February 2012, after a long illness, and Deputy Permanent Secretary at that Ministry, I-Ben Nashandi has been juggling the two roles ever since. It has emerged that the position was duly advertised and an interview was subsequently conducted mid last year. However, the candidates, Tjihumino objected to the outcome of the interview citing that, upon application the outcome from the Public Service Commission named him as the sole candidate who qualified for that position. Investigations by The Villager show that Maru (Tjihumino) challenged the decision on the grounds that after the closure of the application process the Ministry was informed that Tjihumino is the only qualifying candidate for the position among the applicants as such he was supposed to be automatically appointed. However the Ministry is yet to make its decision on the winning candidate public. Tjihumino this week confirmed that he challenged the initial outcome of the interview but refused to dwell further on the matter; “Yes I was one of the shortlisted applicants and I’m still awaiting the final outcome of my application or the next course of action from the side of the authorities involved,” he said adding that, “I recently received a letter from the Public Service Commission saying that they will inform me of the next course of action in due course.” PSC Deputy Permanent Secretary, Bernard Kukuri told The Villager this week that the appointment of the Under Secretary at the Ministry of Finance is work in progress and the Commission will pronounce itself on the matter at an appropriate time. He confirmed that interviews were held and the outcome was made known to the Commission. “Certain issues emerged for which we sought from the Ministry. The Commission is yet to pronounce itself on the matter as we are still waiting for the Ministry to revert back,” he told this newspaper. It has however emerged that the Ministry is pondering with a date for another interview. The Villager also has it on authority that the panel that oversaw the first interview will be dissolved and that a new panel comprising of experts in the field of finance will be introduced to oversee the second round of the interview. Kukuri did not confirm nor deny this allegation but opted to school this writer on the values that the PSC stands for; “The PSC is guided by the principles of fairness and equal opportunities and we strive to live up to that, at all times,” Kukuri said Bad Blood? In September 2007 Tjihumino had to be reappointed to his job as Director for Expenditure and Finance two years after he was suspended following allegations of corruption. He was suspended in August 2005, and was charged in September that year with misconduct. However, his disciplinary hearing was delayed. The Public Service Act stipulates that, a disciplinary inquiry should be conducted within 21 days of the establishment of a disciplinary committee. However, this did not happen in Tjihumino’s case and November 2006, the Labour Court ordered that he be reinstated. Hitherto, the Ministry had reversed his suspension, but shifted him to another post, as Director of Administration, a move that he refused to concur with. The Ministry finally returned him to his original position on September 1, 2007. Tjihumino won the case on the basis of a technicality and the Ministry was ordered to pay his legal cost. The Ministry had accused him of conducting himself in a “disgraceful, improper or unbecoming manner” by involving himself in financial dealings with two companies seeking involvement in the Swakopmund Waterfront venture – Global Vision Trust and Circle Investments. Tjihumino was accused of demanding a commission of 500 pounds from Global Vision Trust’s Brett Jolly that he was not entitled to. Global Vision Trust was said to have sought a loan from GIPF for the Swakopmund Waterfront development. Circle Investments is a local black empowerment company that was also seeking to enter the waterfront venture. The Ministry had also charged that Tjihumino operated a private agency, Namibia Horizon Transport, without proper approval. Still no deputy minister The ministry is also to appoint a deputy 19 months after Calle Schletwein was appointed as Minister of Trade and Industry. Upon enquiry Minister for Presidential Affairs, Albert Kawana told The Villager that, the answer to when President Hifikepunye Pohamba will fill the deputy minister’s position is everyone’s guess. Said Kawana; “My brother, I don’t know what is in the mind of my boss. The President himself is in the best position to reply to that question.” He however hinted at the fact that Special Advisor to the Kuukongelwa-Amadhila, Paul Hartman, who was appointed by Pohamba shortly after Schletwein’s transfer could be serving the role of de-facto deputy minister, due to the fact that Pohamba appointed the ‘special advisor’ at the same level as a deputy minister as per the public service employment ratings. “Constitutionally there is nothing that stops the President from also appointing a deputy minister and he can do it at any given time pending the expiry of his term of office,” Kawana said. He also hailed Hartman as the best considering his professional background as the deputy governor of the Bank of Namibia.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 17:55:55 +0000
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