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Private Firm to Investigate Suspended Naanda
[October 31, 2014]

Private Firm to Investigate Suspended Naanda


(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) THE TransNamib board has hired a private firm to investigate allegations of misconduct against chief executive officer Sara Naanda who was suspended yesterday with full pay.

Board spokesperson Dantagos Jimmy-Melani told The Namibian yesterday that the firm, which she refused to name, will start the probe after the 'first step' (suspending Naanda) was announced yesterday.

"The second step is the investigation by the firm, which has a lot of experience in such matters. The board has chosen not to elaborate on the charges because we don't want to pre-empt the outcome of the investigations," Jimmy-Melani said.



The suspension notice by the board said Naanda has been suspended with full pay, pending finalisation of investigations into 'allegations of wrongdoing and insubordination of board instructions.' Jimmy-Melani confirmed that Naanda was served with a suspension letter yesterday. The board has since appointed Hippy Tjivikua, a senior executive at TransNamib, as acting CEO until further notice.

He did not say how long the investigation would take. Naanda did not answer her phone when The Namibian sought to get a comment yesterday.


On Wednesday, the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) came out in support of Naanda, asking what crime she had committed. SPYL secretary Elijah Ngurare said that the the board was victimising Naanda.

"The terms of reference for this board appears not to advance the operations of TransNamib but rather to get rid of the CEO for reasons best known by the board," Ngurare's statement read. The Namibian reported on Tuesday that the board was after Naanda's head with a suspension imminent and that Naanda, was on Monday given 24 hours to convince the board why it should not suspend her. Naanda has been battling to reach common ground with the board, which also appointed a project manager to oversee the company's turnaround strategy. The project manager will not be reporting to the CEO as the norm but to the board. This move allegedly angered Naanda who was kept in the dark over the appointment.

Ngurare said recent media reports indicated that TransNamib had two CEOs. He said the media reports featured articles on TransNamib's "substantive CEO, Mrs Sara Naanda (a young black woman professional), and its other "CEO" (old white expert) appointed by the board (which is chaired by Peter Oosthuizen who is doubling up as the acting CEO of Road Construction Company) to turn around the company." Ngurare said that young black Namibians are being victimised and disadvantaged, adding that this attitude must be condemned. He said it is an insult to numerous young black professionals to believe that 24 years after independence, only whites can turn around Air Namibia, TransNamib, NWR, NamWater or any parastatal as blacks are not good enough. Naanda, was appointed less than two years ago by a board which has since been replaced with a new board.

"Who sabotaged the railway line between Aus and Lüderitz; who is not happy with the extension of the railway line from Tsumeb to Oshikango? Is there a white cartel in TransNamib which wants to reclaim lost glory?" read the statement.

Ngurare called on works and transport minister Erkki Nghimtina to reverse the appointment of the white consultant. He said the SPYL further appeals to Nghimtina to put a stop to dual CEOs at Air Namibia, TransNamib and RCC.

Copyright The Namibian. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).

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