I write with deep concern about the growing misuse of “suspensions and pending investigations” in our parastatals, municipalities, and town councils. These extended suspensions, sometimes lasting months or even years, are draining public funds, paralysing institutions, and psychologically damaging individuals who have stood firm against corruption.
While Fillemon Nakashole at Nored remains suspended and receives a full salary alongside an acting CEO who awarded a N$61 million tender to the spouse of a legal executive, similar patterns have occurred elsewhere across Namibia, costing taxpayers millions and weakening institutions.
In August 2025, the Namibian Sun reported that Nored’s acting CEO, Toivo Shovaleka, awarded a revenue-recovery contract worth N$61 million to a company owned by the husband of Nored’s own legal executive, Etegameno Indongo-Antindi. This was done without competitive bidding, violating Nored’s procurement rules. Meanwhile, the suspended CEO Fillemon Nakashole continued to receive full pay — effectively paying two CEOs and raising questions about potential procurement irregularities. The report also revealed that the contract, signed on a Saturday, bypassed usual oversight mechanisms and was kept secret until whistleblowers leaked internal documents. But this is not an isolated case. In 2022, Future Media News reported that the Grootfontein Municipality paid its suspended CEO, Kisco Sinvula, a golden handshake of N$2.9 million. He had been suspended earlier in March that year on 27 charges, including fraud, bribery, and abuse of office. The charges were never tested in a full hearing, and no findings were made. The council chose a “settlement,” effectively rewarding a senior executive under serious misconduct allegations. While this payout occurred, alleged irregularities and inflated tenders persisted under acting leadership, with little accountability.
In 2020, The Villager newspaper uncovered a scandal at the Karasburg Town Council, where the CEO and finance manager were both suspended amid investigations into the disappearance of N$10 million in council funds. The finance manager was suspended without pay, while the CEO continued to receive her salary. To this day, the issue remains unresolved. According to the report, there were no financial systems in place to detect or report theft, and the acting officials appointed afterwards faced accusations of poor leadership and unqualified appointments, further weakening the institution.
In 2020, the Namibian Sun reported that four top officials at the Walvis Bay Municipality, including then-CEO Muronga Haingura, were suspended with full pay while investigations were ongoing into the alleged disappearance of N$24 million intended for a mass housing project.
Years later, the results of the investigation remain unclear, and the municipality continues to face issues with poor service delivery and public mistrust. The acting leadership, as several follow-up media reports indicated, made questionable decisions and conducted controversial staff reshuffles that raised concerns in the community.
These examples reveal a disturbing situation. CEOs and senior managers who oppose questionable practices or report irregularities are often the first to be ousted, not through formal disciplinary hearings, but via indefinite suspensions. Acting executives, sometimes chosen specifically for their loyalty to those with political influence, are then used to approve tenders and contracts that may have previously been blocked.
These are not just administrative procedures; they are actions of state capture taking place within the boardroom.
The pattern is predictable: suspend the one who blocks corruption, introduce a more compliant actor, and extend the suspension until the looting is complete. Namibia has unknowingly allowed boards and political networks to weaponise suspension procedures to drain parastatal coffers and shield themselves from oversight. It is governance in reverse, a calculated abuse of process with severe consequences for service delivery, public trust, and institutional integrity.
If the 8th administration under President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is truly serious about treating corruption as “treason,” this issue must be at the top of the government’s reform agenda. A government can’t claim to fight corruption while allowing its institutions to pay double salaries, delay investigations for years, and refuse to disclose results. Such actions are not just inefficient — they constitute theft by silence and collusion through delay.
The Public Enterprises Governance Act and the Local Authorities Act need to be amended to cap suspensions at 60 working days. After that, boards must either reinstate the executive or issue a formal charge sheet and initiate disciplinary procedures.
If they do not act, reinstatement must happen automatically. Additionally, board members who knowingly extend suspensions or fail to complete investigations should be held personally liable, through administrative fines, disqualification from future public board positions, or even criminal charges for abuse of office.
The government must also establish an Independent State-Owned Enterprises and Local Authority Ethics Tribunal to oversee all executive suspensions. This body must have the authority to overturn politically motivated suspensions, investigate board decisions, and protect whistleblowers. Where it is found that political influence led to the removal of a CEO or senior official, the ACC must act with urgency, and Parliament must criminalise such manipulation as part of the broader fight against elite-driven corruption.
President Nandi-Ndaitwah, you have made admirable commitments to end corruption and rebuild national trust. But that fight must begin with how we treat our institutions — and those who dare to keep them clean. The practice of rewarding bad actors while silencing good ones through long, drawn-out suspensions is a national disgrace. I urge you to instruct the Prime Minister to review all suspended executives across parastatals and municipalities within the next 30 days. The Auditor General and ACC must also be directed to conduct a financial and governance audit into every prolonged suspension that has cost the state double salaries or lost opportunities.
Namibia cannot afford to fund two executives in one post while communities cry for electricity, water, housing, and jobs. The cost is too high, and the people are watching. Let this be the turning point. Let the real cleanup begin.
*Hidipo Hamata writes in his personal capacity from Omafo – Helao Nafidi Town.
Email: hidipohamata@gmail.com