Namdia board member resigns

HUMAN resources executive Florentia Amuenje has resigned as board member of the scandal-hit Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) – less than a year after she was appointed in the position.

Energy minister Obeth Kandjoze confirmed to yesterday that he had accepted Amuenje’s resignation.

“From the resignation letter in my possession, no particular reason was cited for her resignation, other than that she is resigning from the Namdia board,” he said.

Namdia is a 100% state-owned entity created by government last year to sell diamonds worth over N$2 billion per year on the international market.

The minister referred further questions to Amuenje, but she was not reachable. According to her LinkedIn account, she previously worked as head for human resources at FNB Namibia from 2007 to June 2014. She then started working for human resources firm TransfoCoaching and Consulting.

Kandjoze did not indicate the date on which Amuenje resigned, but it is presumed to have been within the last two weeks.

Asked on who would replace her and when the appointment will be done, Kandjoze said “no decision is made in that regard”.

reported last year how Kandjoze quietly appointed a Namdia board without announcing it to the public.

Sources said the board includes proxies who are there to serve the interests of private individuals and some people in power.

Namdia directors were appointed on 2 August 2016 for a three-year term. They include lawyer Shakespeare Masiza, who is the chairperson; vice chairperson Tania Hangula, who is also the chairperson of the Development Bank of Namibia; manager for investment at the Namibia Social Security Commission Lorentha Harases, and geologist Venondjo Maharero, who worked at diamond firm Namdeb until 2015.

It is not clear why Amuenje threw in the towel. A board member claimed that she resigned for personal reasons, while other sources claimed that she was frustrated.

It is, however, a fact that she resigned within two weeks after reported that the battle for the control of Namdia is getting dirty.

That report said the fight for the control of the company took a twist two weeks ago after it emerged that the board was investigating claims that diamonds were deliberately being sold cheaply abroad.

Namdia chairperson Masiza and his deputy, Hangula, are said to be leading one of the two feuding groups, while the other is headed by acting Namdia chief executive Kennedy Hamutenya.

Masiza’s camp wants a new chief executive appointed, while Hamutenya and his supporters accuse their rivals of trying to sabotage Namdia’s management in order to control diamond sales.

Hamutenya’s camp also claims that some board members did not have any knowledge of the diamond trade, and just wanted to line their pockets.

At the centre of the conflict is a smouldering allegation that Namdia has been deliberately underpricing diamonds sold in Dubai – an allegation rejected by the Hamutenya group.

A diamond dealer told this newspaper that Namibia was being ripped off, as the consistent underpricing of diamonds could cost the country N$2 billion in lost revenue.

At least N$2,1 billion revenue is expected from Namdia diamond sales this year.