2006-03-20Staff Report 2 Allow me some space in your newspaper to air my views on the recently launched Smart Card Nami-bia, which will offer one-card banking services to NamPost customers, as reported in the New Era of March 2, 2006. This transaction between NamPost and Net 1 is a cause of major concern. As concerned staff members who have even not been consulted we have realised that it will work out to be too expensive at the end for NamPost. The Chairman, CEO and Board of Directors refused to listen to us because they were lobbied to give the business to Net 1 without a public tender. We understood later on why this pressure was put on management to give the main function of NamPost to Net 1 because Net 1 is owned by Nedbank in South Africa and the NamPost Chairman is a board member of Nedbank Namibia and the new Executive Chairman of Smart Card Namibia was the Managing Director of Nedbank Namibia and now is a non-executive Director of Nedbank Namibia, when these discussions started. We do not know if the Government is aware of all this but still goes ahead and lets the business happen at the expense of NamPost and customers? The NamPost Chairman acted with major conflict of interest and still is facing the same conflict. NamPost is a definite loser in this relationship. This is not a rocket science which NamPost cannot get from China or India at half the price. Even if public tenders were called the competition would have pushed the price and conditions down in favor of NamPost and customers. This advice was not listened to and NamPost sold out its primary service to a company without any track record in Namibia. The money of NamPost customers could be at risk. It is one thing to offer the cards but what about the control over the money. Was the Bank of Namibia consulted? Was Namfisa consulted? Did they rubber-stamp the NamPost Chairman and CEO's decision without asking the relationship between the parties involved? Was this best for NamPost? We are concerned and want the newly established Anti-Corruption Agency to look into this or the State Owned Enterprises Bill to stop this business. Next we will be retrenched by NamPost because there is no job for us. But was it right to give the business away to Net 1 in the first place? Who are these people? How do they know each other with the NamPost Chairman, CEO, some directors? Who benefits at the end of the day from all this? Is it NamPost, or customers or individuals? What will happen to the NamPost staff? Where are our union leaders? Concerned Staff Member (Name provided) 2006-03-20Staff Report 2
