The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) management accused of gross mismanagement, corruption, abuse of power and nepotism, cannot investigate itself. This is according to Namibia Public Workers Union (Napwu) general secretary, Petrus Nevonga, in a letter addressed to NUST council chairperson, Florette Nakusera, last week.

In his missive, seen by this paper, Nevonga expressed his disappointment in the council’s decision to allow the university’s management to act as judge and jury in an investigation implicating those in its top echelons.

“We are of the view that the fundamental responsibility of a governing body, such as council, to govern is not new. With the aforementioned, council cannot delegate its responsibility for the consequences of unsound or imprudent policies and practices as this is within the confines of their duties as council,” Nevonga argued in his scathing submission.

“Generally, the purpose of an internal investigation is to promptly ascertain the facts surrounding the allegations. We deem the investigation to be within your mandate,” Nevonga stressed.

He also reminded Nakusera of the veracity of the allegation. 

“[The] concerns raised by NUST staff relate to the executive management and involve conduct that reasonably implicates one or more executive staff members. The allegations raised could otherwise not call into question the objectivity of a management directed investigation,” the seasoned unionist asserted.

In Nevonga’s eyes, the decision defeats logic and waters down allegations made by disgruntled staff members.

“Impartiality doubts can be raised by mechanisms that permit the executive management to investigate themselves,” he continued.

More so, he added, a council-led investigation will take NUST’s stakeholders into their confidence as it “will reinforce the council’s position as an active oversight and control body”.

“Broadly stated, the aforesaid offers substantive grounds for rethinking your decision. We like to reiterate that failure to conduct a prompt and expeditious investigation may impact on adequacy due to increased risk of losing evidence,” the unionist cautioned.

Nakusera, in the meantime, directed all questions relating to the debacle to NUST spokesperson, John Haufiku.

“I believe you have sent the questions to the correct person. He is the spokesperson of the university and will respond accordingly,” was how Nakusera reacted.

A previous communique to Nakusera, dated 27 March, was birthed by consultative meetings the union held with staff members earlier this year.

Employee concerns ranged from the wanton disregard of the Labour Act, NUST’s human resource code and principles of good governance.

Supremely, the unhappy staff members point fingers primarily at the man leading the institution, vice chancellor Erold Naomab. 

Kaumbi vs Naomab

What is more, the relationship between Naomab and his principal legal advisor, Joshua Kaumbi, appears to be at an all-time low, if a letter purportedly authored by Kaumbi, also seen by New Era is anything to go by.

In the letter, Kaumbi accuses Naomab of having brought his professional standing into disrepute.

Kaumbi further said if Naomab does not clear the air, he will be left with no option but to seek alternative avenues for recourse.

“Because these allegations go to my character, I will be left with no option but to request council to investigate or appoint an independent committee to investigate, failing which I will file a grievance with the intention to clear my name,” he threatened.

The lawyer also wants to establish if he is being investigated on Naomab’s instructions and, furthermore, took issue with Naomab’s allegation that he leaked confidential information to the media.

At a time when the university is rocked by allegations of nepotism, the claims appeared in Kaumbi’s dictum.

“I will repeat what I said in the meeting: That we have no reason to fight you and that we, as Hereros, are feeling threatened by your attitude towards us as we appear to be sidelined from participation in professional activities and decisions mandated for our offices,” Kaumbi added.

He neither confirmed nor denied penning the memo but promised to “revert”. The same goes with Naomab.

Kaumbi also took issue with his office being side-stepped in some legal matters, which he believes he should be responsible for. 

“If nothing else, I believe I have reason to be professionally aggrieved as you have changed workflows regarding the legal reviews and vetting at the university to undermine my office and put the university at risk.

“An example is that you changed the way agreements are reviewed, which I believe is within your purview as accounting officer. The problem is that you failed to discuss it with me or sent the email to me but rather forwarded the said email to secretaries,” Kaumbi is further quoted as stating.

‘Abortive attempt’

Since taking over the reins at a university, Naomab has been preoccupied with extinguishing one crisis after another. Even his appointment was challenged, by fellow academic, Frednard Gideon, who maintained he was the best overall performer during the hunt to succeed long serving vice chancellor Tjama Tjivikua.

Now, the university finds itself between a rock and hard place, amid claims that a complete disregard for laws and policies has become a norm.

This prompted Napwu’s call for an urgent intervention by the NUST council and higher education ministry in the affairs of the public university.

In addition, the management allegedly delayed a job grading process, dating back to 2019 when it transformed from a technikon to a university.

“This process was done in secrecy, with no stakeholder engagement to date… At present, employees are required to perform in accordance with the new job specifications without recognition or compensation… This is a serious contravention of the Labour Act, NUST HR policy code and governance principles the minister [of higher education] and council should know and take action as part of their fiduciary duties,” Nevonga continued.

More so, the struggling institution has seemingly been unable to account for public resources entrusted to it in recent years, failing to produce unqualified audited financial statements or annual reports. The last available NUST annual report dates back to 2018. 

- emumbuu@nepc.com.na