WALVIS BAY – Karibib CEO Lesley Goraseb has resigned.
This was confirmed by the mayor of Karibib Davey van Wyk yesterday afternoon.
According to van Wyk, Goraseb handed in his resignation on Wednesday. His initial contract with council was expected to end in March next year.
Goraseb and the Karibib town council have been at loggerheads over the state of the council’s affairs that was unearthed in an internal audit.
Ironically, council last month in a special meeting decided to suspend Goraseb and was seeking guidance from the line ministry before taking the decision.
The internal audit, conducted by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development and released in August ,revealed that council was facing a slew of critical financial and administrative issues, including violations of local authority laws, unauthorised expenditure and a poor work relationship between councillors and administrators.
These challenges have had serious implications for the municipality and its residents, according to the audit.
The report further states that one of the most concerning issues is the violation of local authority laws when the Karibib community’s collective account was separated from the normal operations of the council without the required approval.
The audit also indicated there is an unauthorised transfer of over N$10 million done between the council’s accounts without proper approvals, leading to unauthorised expenditures and possible fraudulent payments.
“This issue is attributed to poor supervision, negligence and inadequate internal controls. To prevent further unauthorised transfers, the council must obtain proper resolutions for fund transfers and hold both the CEO and finance manager accountable for their actions,” said Martin Ngubai, deputy director of internal audit at the line ministry.
According to him, the mismanagement of salary advances, including non-compliance with personnel rules, has exposed the council to potential theft, financial losses and exploitation.
Poor supervision, staff imitating the CEO’s actions and negligence have contributed to this problem.
As a result of the audit, the Karibib council wrote to the ministry, seeking approval to subsequently charge and suspend Goraseb.
However, van Wyk indicated that Goraseb handed in his resignation letter on Wednesday.
“He resigned this week before we could take the necessary steps, and council has accepted his resignation,” the mayor said yesterday.
Goraseb could not be reached for comment yesterday, but told New Era last month that he has no desire to continue working with the council, as their relationship has become strained.
“The relationship is completely broken between me and the council that it hampers service delivery, but everything I do, I have done within the confinements of the law and the Local Authority Act. There is no money missing from the council, although we must improve some aspects in terms of administration,” said Goraseb.
He also said his working conditions were communicated to both the line ministry and the Erongo governor, but nothing has been done so far.
“These issues have a way of tarnishing one’s image to such an extent that you cannot even secure worth elsewhere. This is all because I did not want to be used by certain councillors,” he said.
Goraseb’s last working day will be before 25 November.