WINDHOEK - Five executives and four middle managers at the cash-strapped Municipality of Gobabis are receiving monthly salaries ranging between N$71 000 to N$91 000 a month, despite some of them not meeting either educational or experience requirements to hold such positions. This damaging revelation is contained in a leaked assessment report by the municipality’s CEO Ignatius Thudinyane to the
management committee earlier this year.
Management committee chairperson Anna Kawana yesterday confirmed to New Era on having received the report, which is currently under scrutiny.
Thudinyane’s phone went unanswered yesterday to clarify certain issues regarding the gravy train.
According to Thudinyane’s report, electrical services manager John Nanduaa earns the highest yearly salary of N$1 088 149 (roughly N$91 000 per month) followed by Local Economic Development Strategic Executive Patric Mbala-who earns a yearly salary of N$1003 345 (around N$84 000 per month).
Nanduaa yesterday told New Era that the leaked salaries were ‘fake’ but would not divulge the correct figures.
Technical services strategic executive John Endjala, who is third in the perk charts, earns a yearly salary of N$983 363 (around N$82 000 per month) – slightly more than the CEO (Thudinyane), who is on a yearly salary of N$982 844 (about N$82 000 per month). Finance executive Phillimo Makili earns a yearly salary of N$963 096 (N$80 000 per month).
Others in the perk paradise include human resources and corporate services executive Frida Ueitele-Shimakeleni, who earns a yearly salary of N$921 949 (about N$77 000 per month), Finance Manager Elizabeth Upindi (N$936 129 yearly), civil service manager (N$902 224 – but currently vacant) while human resource and corporate services manager Penda Shilamba earns N$867 789 annually.
Thudinyane, who was only in the CEO’s job for 180 days by the time he compiled the report in January this year, said in his report that the cattle country’s municipality is on its knees and that a serious and urgent intervention was needed to rescue the situation.
“It is impossible to continue operating the same way and with the same ineffective personal and yet expect different results. Change is imminent,” he told the management committee.
“With the current human capacities in the departments and virtually empty council coffers, Gobabis is far from achieving anything. It is just a matter of time before Gobabis is in the national newspapers for inability to pay staff salaries,” he warned.
Thudinyane in his assessment said that despite the municipality paying the human resources and corporate services executive and its manager close to N$200 000 monthly, council still spends a lot of money on external consultancy.
According to his report, Gobabis is faced with many problems which among many others include illegal land grabbing, dirty town, dark town with many street lights dead, chaotic parking and operations of trucks in town, community petitions and marches, old and dilapidated road traffic signs, general lawlessness, sprawling informal settlements with various social challenges and high unemployment rate and no job creation initiatives.