KEETMANSHOOP - The //Kharas Regional Council has started the process of recruiting a new chief regional officer (CRO) as the contract of incumbent Beatus Kasete expires in December.

Kasete, who has been at the helm of the council since January 2019, was suspended on 25 June 2021 for alleged insubordination but he is yet to be charged. 

Since then, the council’s director of finance, human resources and administration, Benedictus Diergaardt has been acting in the CRO’s position.

In an interview with Nampa, council chairperson Joseph Isaaks said the council and the Public Service Commission are engaged in the process of having the CRO’s position declared vacant, before it can be advertised.

The councillor said Kasete’s suspension was extended to the end of December for it to end concurrently with his employment contract with the council.

“The first process of informing the staff member (Kasete) that his contract will not be extended has been done and the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development is in the process of calculating his dues,” said Isaaks.

When asked why the council allowed Diergaardt to act in the position for more than a year, a situation which the law does not allow, Isaaks said: “We decided to keep extending the acting position; we did not just let him act from day one, we kept extending the contract every three months. We are open to any criticism; anyone who thinks we did things wrongly, we are open to that”.

Isaaks further said the position will go to whoever applies and meets the criteria.

“If the acting CRO meets the requirements that are needed for that position, yes he can get the job, but not because he has been acting in the position for so long,” he said.

Approached for comment, Kasete indicated that he did not receive any communication to indicate that his suspension had been extended to December, nor has he been informed that his contract would not be renewed. - Nampa