Sharoldine Bock
The appointment of acting CEO Hansina Isaacks and the personal assistant to the mayor, Kallie Goliath, on 6 June 2023, has caused chaos in the Karasburg Town Council, said councillor Nesimus Mupiya.
“There were some loggerheads in the council as some members opposed it (appointment) and others proposed it but we are busy resolving it,” said Mupiya without elaborating on the matter.
The allegations are that appointments of the acting CEO and PA of the mayor were done without following the requisite recruitment process. This also caused the human resource practitioner in the council to refrain from handing over a laptop, documents and password to the acting CEO, causing one of the councillors to report the matter to the police recently.
This was confirmed by //Kharas regional crime investigations coordinator Nicodemus Mbango.
«They called the station commander to talk to the lady to hand over the laptop and password then she later handed it over,» said Mbango.
Several other employees refused to work with new staff members, said a source inside the council.
The source added a staff member, who acted as the acting CEO prior to Isaacks’ controversial appointment was told to vacate the position without any reason and that some staff members were allegedly threatened to process the appointments.
Additionally, the council’s management committee chairperson, Cecilia Clark, who allegedly dealt with matters related to appointments, also resigned last week Friday.
Karasburg mayor, Maria Veldskoen said that the council has the authority to appoint the two staff members, which is stipulated by section 11(5)(ii) of the Local Authorities Act, 1992, and that the decision was executed to rectify issues created by their former CEO.
“Among the number of things that went missing, we have the money that has gone unaccounted right under the nose of the mayor, the council and those administrators. There was a need to bring change, said Veldskoen.
She said no threats have been made. Clark declined to comment.
Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Uutoni also did not comment stating that he first wants to meet with the council in the near future. However, he said he has not received any correspondence from the council regarding the matter.
A letter written by Uutoni to Veldskoen on 13 June, and seen by New Era, confirmed that the appointment was conducted illegally and that it did not comply with the law. It revealed that the council disregarded the advice of the ministry provided on 30 May.
Additionally, the matter has also affected the community. Community activist Jacobus Basson said there was no need to appoint a PA for the mayor and acting CEO from Keetmanshoop since the council is already experiencing financial challenges due to the missing funds.
“The community feels that the council cannot pay NamPower and NamWater debt, this (the appointment) will just create unnecessary costs. There are people in management that can act as the CEO. Now they appoint a new person with a salary of N$26 000 and N$16 000 for the PA. A PA is not needed,” said Basson.