Business Reporter
THE Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, Iipumbu Shiimi, has stated that his ministry is hard at work to ensure that sustainability is restored to malfunctioning Public Enterprises (PE’s), such as TransNamib and the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor).
The Public Enterprises Minister emphasized that board members and management have to be held accountable, especially at Namcor, where cases of malpractices and maleficence have been reported. Shiimi made these remarks at President Hage Geingob’s year-end briefing, where different ministers gave an update on their portfolio ministries.
Namcor held a press briefing last week, revealing a loss of N$ 700 million and a creditors book of N$1.9 billion, with the institution facing a working capital deficit. Jennifer Comalie, chairperson of the Namcor board, stated that the losses incurred by the company were mainly a result of volatilities in the petroleum market, as well as a breach in internal controls and governance systems.
“With regard to public enterprises, definitely we are forging ahead with the reform program. I addressed board members and senior executives of PE’s last week. We launched a 5-point game plan. This builds on the progress made by the Public Enterprises Governance Act (PEGA). This five-point game plan concentrates on governance, which includes appointing competent board members and holding them accountable. The current structure does not have key performance indicators; it is very generic for board members. The board should also ensure that they monitor the performance of management,” Shiimi said.
He added that the five-point game plan will enable PEs to deliver on their mandate in a sustainable manner. “This includes Transnamib and Namcor; we are hard at work to ensure that sustainability is restored at these institutions. Especially when it comes to Namcor, where there are cases of malpractices and maleficence. These people should be brought to book. If we are not delivering on our mandates, we should be brought to book,” Shiimi said.
While Namcor management last week claimed that it was stripped of its fuel levy, which contributed largely to its revenues, Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, said that this is not the case.
“When the price of fuel increased dramatically, in order to give relief to consumers, we reduced levies given to Namcor, MVA, and RA, just to give the consumer some relief. But those cuts have since been restored, including for NAMCOR,” Alweendo clarified.
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