WINDHOEK – Several Swapo MP-elects who were listed as not having submitted their CVs as instructed by incoming president Hage Geingob claim they have submitted their papers but blamed administrative hiccups for the misunderstanding.
Geingob said in a statement released this week that in December he requested all 77 Swapo MP-elects to submit their CVs to his office but 10 had not complied with his request.
Minister of Lands and Resettlement Alpheus !Naruseb did not sound impressed by the CV saga when contacted yesterday, briefly saying: “Why is this an issue, ask the person who made the pronouncement?”
Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Bernard Esau yesterday told New Era that his CV was already submitted sometime last week.
“We did submit it after receiving the request from the office of the secretary general. We do not know where things went wrong, maybe it is just an administrative issue,” he said.
Minister of Finance Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said her CV did not reach Geingob’s office by the set deadline but the issue has now been rectified.
“Unfortunately, my CV did not reach the OPM by the set deadline, a situation that is highly regretted. The situation has now been rectified,” said Kuugongelwa-Amadhila.
Another MP on the list of those who failed to submit their CVs, Professor Peter Katjavivi, also said he has submitted his CV, adding that there was an administrative misunderstanding.
“My CV was already in, the request came from the [Swapo] secretary general’s office, but of course we supplied the CV to that office during elections because it was a pre-requisite to compete for parliament,” Katjavivi said.
“I was not aware until a couple of days ago that the CV was requested by the prime minister but I have since complied with that. But the secretary general’s office could have indicated that the CV was for onward transmission,” he said.
Katjavivi said he was however not apportioning blame to Nangolo Mbumba’s office, adding that the matter has since been resolved.
Political analyst Dr Andrew Niikondo said Geingob’s pronouncement on the issue gives insight on how he will run his government.
“Some of those people are new to him and he does not know all of them. In order to allocate these people accordingly you need to know their backgrounds,” said Niikondo.
Critics have questioned the motive behind publicly naming those who did not submit their CVs, a subject that Niikondo was reluctant to discuss.
“I know it is not good to name them in public, but it is also not good for people to ignore a request from the top office,” Niikondo said.
“He [Geingob] said he made the request last year but the people were not forthcoming. If you are told to submit your CV and you fail to do so, what does that imply?”
Geingob said he requested the CVs from the officials in order to gauge their respective qualifications, competencies, skills and aptitudes, so that they may be deployed in a manner that will make full use of their individual skills.
“Laxity of officials has, and will continue to be the Achilles heel of many administrations, which cannot be tolerated. We are at a crucial stage in our democracy and cannot afford to delay matters. It is therefore incumbent upon those involved in this process to see that important matters, such as this one, are treated with the utmost urgency,” the incoming president said.
The politicians who were named as not having submitted their CVs are the current Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Bernard Esau, Minister of Lands and Resettlement Alpheus !Naruseb, Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, Transport Minister Errki Nghimtina, current Swapo Chief Whip in the National Assembly Peter Katjavivi, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry Anna Shiweda, Namibia Training Authority executive Anna Hipondoka, parliamentarian Sophia Swartz, Otjozondjupa education director Faustina Caley, and Marina Kandume.