OUTJO – The Outjo Municipality has come under the spotlight for allegedly lowering requirements for the CEO position to suit a certain in-house candidate, New Era has learnt.

Town mayor Sieglinde
//Amamus has flatly denied the allegation.

Sources close to the matter said the council significantly lowered the bar for the CEO’s post.

Particularly, the council lowered the requirement from “serving
at the senior management level to the middle management level”.

This, they say, was to pave the way for the smooth sailing of a candidate preferred by politicians and powerbrokers in the town.

Initially, aspiring candidates were expected to have a minimum experience of eight years, of which five years should have been at the senior management level in a local authority environment.

What is peculiar, however, is that the new requirements are asking for eight years of working experience, of which five years should be at the middle management, senior management or executive management level in the local authority environment.

This, New Era has been impeccably informed, has been tailored to fit Teofilia Jentzsch, the town’s current finance manager.

Yesterday, efforts to get
comment from Jentzsch were futile as her phone went unanswered. 

Allegations

The allegations arose from a community meeting held in the town about a week ago, where the residents questioned the council’s

motive to lower the bar for an executive position, with some accusing the council of trying to hire an unqualified female candidate, who, according to some community members, is favoured by Kunene governor Marius Sheya and other Swapo politicians.

Ironically, while delivering his State of the Region Address this year, Sheya was quoted as saying Outjo has appointed a female CEO. 

“The councils of Outjo and Opuwo
have just appointed new female chief executive officers, translating into three out of four local authorities, namely Kamanjab, Outjo and Opuwo, to be
headed by women,” he is quoted as saying in the video clip. 

This is all while the recruitment, at least according to information in the public domain, is ongoing. 

Yesterday, however, Sheya poured cold water over the matter, saying he does not get involved in local authority recruitments. 

“I am not involved in the recruitment
of local authority administrative staff. Speak to the mayor,” he said. 

Demands 

The residents demand cancellation of the re-advertisement of the CEO position.

According to Mazenge Uaundja, one of the concerned residents, the said candidate was also shortlisted for the position last year without proper qualifications and required experience, and was pronounced as the best candidate for the post.

“Outjo is in a vacuum, and poor service delivery has become the norm. They added that the project to bring services to the informal settlements has been at a standstill for over eight years.

“As a community, we are angry, very angry at the indignity that we must suffer being without a CEO, the seeming lack of care of the municipality, and the lack of communication from the municipality,” said another resident who opted to be anonymous.

The residents said the councillors
treat them like second-class citizens,
which is “unacceptable given the hard-fought democracy”.

The residents are also threatening to take legal action if the council does not withdraw the advert.

Denial

In an interview with this publication recently, //Amamus acknowledged amendments effected on the now re-advertised post. 

“We have indeed re-advertised the position of the CEO. We are aware of the misconception that we lowered the requirements to suit an alleged favourable candidate,” she stated bluntly. 

She continued: “We want to make this categorically clear; we are a reputable municipality, serving in truth and
honesty for the betterment of our residents and community at large.”

//Amamus maintained that there are no standard requirements for the CEO position, and that it varies from council to council. “We have thus amended the requirement to what all other municipalities set, to take away the misinterpretation. 

In this latest advertisement, we would love to attract a favourable number of qualifying Namibians, who will ultimately all compete for the position in a fair and transparent manner, to get the best candidate,” she said.

Sharing similar sentiments was Liina Uvanga, the chairperson of the Outjo municipal council, who said the motivation to re-advertise the position was to accommodate people with expertise in local authority administration.

“Last time we could not attract more applicants. 

That’s why we decided to accommodate those with expertise from the middle management level,” she said.

Uvanga maintained that the decision to lower the bar was a collective decision by all members of the council, who represent various political parties, without external influence.

“The council is committed to transparency and fairness in the recruitment process, aiming to restore confidence in the municipality’s governance and leadership selection mechanisms,” she said.

Nothing sinister 

Furthermore,  //Amamus said there is nothing amiss with lowering the bar for their potential CEO’s entry requirement.

“We would like to dispel any rumour
that there is political interference in the advertised position. All information
pertaining to such is devoid of truth. Politicians don’t serve in shortlisting committees [or] interviewing panels, but reputable professionals who recommend to the council,” she dismissed.

The municipality re-advertised the position last month, following meetings between the council and the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development in March.

The deadline for applications is set for 19 August.

Outjo has been without a CEO since April 2021, following the retirement of Josef Urib.

The contested position was first advertised in 2022.

However, the process fell flat as allegations pointing to irregularities
and a purportedly flawed interview
process from shortlisting to interviewing, were rife.

Information obtained from the municipality shows that the re-advertisement followed the ministry’s directive to the council, concerning complaints of irregularities in the recruitment of the CEO, who according to many was not suitable. 

-lnashuuta@gmail.com