The Namibia University of Science and Technology’s outgoing council is divided. It is chairperson Florette Nakusera against the rest.

This is according to documents and exchanges seen by New Era, which all point to a deeply-divided body.

By Friday, the council, whose term ended on the same day, had two exit reports which were to be submitted to higher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi.

One report was prepared by Nakusera, while another was authored by her deputy Michael Humavindu and five other council members.

The latter group, New Era is reliably informed, distanced itself from Nakusera’s submission.

“The report submitted by the chairperson purportedly addressing the council’s proceedings is a blatant mockery of the principles of good governance and collective leadership. It reads more like an exco report, serving the personal agenda of the chairperson, rather than objectively representing the interests and concerns of the council members,” reads part of a text purportedly from the Humavindu-led faction.

“Instead of a comprehensive and thorough account of the council’s activities, the report appears to be selectively presenting information that would benefit the chairperson and their preferred narrative. It lacks transparency, and fails to provide an accurate reflection of the discussions and decisions made during council meetings.”

According to the group, Nakusera undermined the credibility of the council, and hindered its ability to serve the collective interests of its constituents.

At the heart of the fallout is the corruption, nepotism and abuse of power allegations against the university’s vice chancellor, Erold Naomab.

The outgoing council also failed to respond to the Anti-Corruption Commission on allegations of maladministration at the institution, which was once primed as a mecca of excellence.

In fact, the Humavindu-led faction wants an extension of their term to finish what they deem unfinished business, which would otherwise threaten their professional standing.

“Upon my reading and proper reflection, I am afraid to register that I am unfortunately not endorsing the submission [by Nakusera]. I shall rather request an opportunity with the honourable minister [Kandjii-Murangi] to submit my own reflection on our tenure. Please record, thus, that I chose not to endorse the report and thus have no comment to submit,” Humavindu said in an email communication last Thursday.

This is after his request to have an urgent council meeting was met by a brickwall in the form of Nakusera.

“Vice-chairperson, having a meeting on the last day of an outgoing council to discuss the letter from the ACC on matters for which there are clear resolutions, will not be advisable. This will not only be a waste of resources, but will also be an illegal gathering of council members because only a duly-constituted meeting of the full council can carry any such legality.

“The resolutions on the planned investigation were discussed in-camera at a duly-constituted meeting of the full council, and thus they still stand. These resolutions will be provided to the ACC in my response to them as well as to the honourable minister,” Nakusera told Humavindu.

It appears that Nakusera has washed her hands off the institution.

She continued: “We have done our part as members of this counci,l and I have full trust that the honourable minister will appoint equally capable members of this country to serve on the new council… as we bow out, others will be ready to take over [from] where we left off.”

Fallout

In their report, seen by this paper, Humavindu and five others register their disappointment in the state of affairs at the university.

“Corporate governance deficiencies manifest themselves increasingly at Nust. Despite the good beginnings of ensuring a 2019 annual report and an AGM, major corporate and academic reporting events are stymied. A strategic plan that was finalised is unpaired with a comprehensive financial plan (which is not even seen by the minister),” the group wrote.

In addition, the fact that Nust has no internal auditor is baffling to the six.

“Consequently, the annual reports of 2020, 2021 and 2022 are outstanding. There are no AGMs held. The institution is turning into a corporate governance pariah of academic institutions,” they charged.

This report was allegedly submitted to Kandjii-Murangi.

“Several financial malfeasances have been reported as allegations by various stakeholders. These allegations are of a serious nature, and therefore there is merit in them being investigated to either clear names of the alleged culprits, or look at bringing them to book whilst also ensuring mitigation measures for the future,” the group told the minister.

What is peculiar, however, is that despite there being council resolutions to undertake an independent investigation, “no action has been forthcoming through the chairperson’s leadership”.

According to them, Nust also has a bloated management structure.

“There seems to be a non-sanctioned and deliberate move to burden the top structure of the university. This spells danger to the already-depleted resources of the university and a misplaced priority as most of the positions are not for an academic environment, i.e. chief operations officer,” they lamented.

The other council members are Kadiva Hamutuwa, Thomas Iindji, Katrina Thomas, Elizabeth Kamutuezu and former Windhoek mayor Muesee Kazapua.

“We have attempted to frame what we believe are insights for your perusal and kind consideration. We once again reiterate that our submission is in no way meant to cast aspersions on any persona, but an honest, critical appraisal by the undersigned amidst a very difficult operating and strategic environment under which Nust finds itself,” they submitted.

Nakusera

While her report paints a different picture when juxtaposed against her colleagues’ one, Nakusera does admit that the university is confronted by numerous challenges.

“Over the last three years, a strained global economy resulted in an over-reliance on the government subsidy to fund Nust’s operations. For the same reason, the government subsidy has proven to be unpredictable and declining in nature. Council maintains that it is an unsustainable trend that expenditure consistently exceeds the revenue streams in the university’s annual budget. Reacting to the unsustainable trend, council approved a financial sustainability model,” she stated.

The university had some notable achievements under their watch, she noted.

Chiefly, she pointed to the establishment of satellite campuses in Eenhana, the Rietfontein campus that has been reserved for Agricultural sciences, vocational and technological studies as well as biomass production.

“The Lüderitz campus in the south shall serve as the key driver and hub for research and green as well as blue hydrogen studies, in response to the national agenda of developing energy reserves,” she added.

Interestingly, only two lines deal with the raft of allegations facing the university’s management.

“Council deliberated and resolved to institute an independent external enquiry into the Napwu allegations, which was sent to the chairperson of council. Council deliberated, and delegated an external council member to draft the terms of reference (TOR) for sourcing an independent legal entity to inquire into Napwu allegations and share the TOR with the other external Council Members for further action. Council deliberated and agreed on an increased management and staff engagement,” Nakusera said.

Earlier this year, the Namibia Public Workers Union called for an urgent intervention by the Nust council and Kandjii-Murangi in the affairs of the public university after damning allegations of corruption, abuse of power and nepotism surfaced.

At the time, Napwu general secretary Petrus Nevonga raised the alarm on a multitude of allegations, after consultative meetings the union held with staff members in February.

It included the alleged blatant disregard of the Labour Act, Nust human resources code and principles of good governance.

- emumbuu@nepc.com.na