Qualifications of Karas Region’s Planning Director questioned

THE Public Service Commission has called for an inquiry into the academic qualifications of the Karas Regional Council’s Director of Planning, Benedicktus Rudolf Rukamba.

In a letter to Karas Chief Regional Officer Salmaan Jacobs, leaked to The Namibian, the Public Service Commission advised the Regional Council in December to approach the Namibia Qualification Authority to evaluate Rukamba’s qualifications. This came after it surfaced that his qualifications, including a Diploma in Business Administration, Advanced Diploma in Business Administration and a Certificate in Business Administration, were issued by an association instead of an educational institution.Another matter that raised eyebrows is a footnote at the bottom of the certificates, which reads that the qualifications are “the property of the Association of Business Executives and must be returned if membership ceases”.According to the Public Service Commission Secretariat, it does not understand why qualifications should be returned.Rukamba, who took up the post on October 2005, obtained the qualifications in June 1991 and 1992 from The Association of Business Executives in London.The Namibian has it on good authority that the Regional Council, in a letter dated February 6 this year, requested the Namibia Qualification Authority (NAQ) to evaluate Rukamba’s qualifications.Yesterday, the Head of Qualifications, Mildred de Beer, would not deny or confirm whether Rukamba’s qualifications had been sent to NAQ offices for evaluation.”This sort of information is kept confidential between the customer and NAQ,” she said.The Namibian was reliably informed that the NAQ had requested certified transcripts of Rukamba’s qualifications and his highest school certificate to proceed with the evaluation.The Namibian was told that the evaluation process has come to a standstill because Rukamba failed to forward the requested documents to the NAQ offices.When approached for comment yesterday, Rukamba acknowledged that he had received a letter from the NQA requesting certified copies of his academic qualifications for evaluation.”I’ve sent these documents a long time ago,” he added.According to Rukamba, the evaluation was to check whether his qualifications were equivalent to the academic requirements for the director’s post.A request to investigate Rukamba’s qualifications was also lodged with the Anti-Corruption Commission, AAC Deputy Director Erna van der Merwe yesterday confirmed.”We’re in the process of conducting a preliminary inquiry into the matter to check whether it needs a full-scale investigation on the part of the AAC,” Van der Merwe said.When the post was advertised, it required an Honours degree in engineering, finance or public administration, or a qualification equivalent to a BTech degree in economics or development planning studies, plus nine years’ work experience.This came after it surfaced that his qualifications, including a Diploma in Business Administration, Advanced Diploma in Business Administration and a Certificate in Business Administration, were issued by an association instead of an educational institution.Another matter that raised eyebrows is a footnote at the bottom of the certificates, which reads that the qualifications are “the property of the Association of Business Executives and must be returned if membership ceases”.According to the Public Service Commission Secretariat, it does not understand why qualifications should be returned.Rukamba, who took up the post on October 2005, obtained the qualifications in June 1991 and 1992 from The Association of Business Executives in London.The Namibian has it on good authority that the Regional Council, in a letter dated February 6 this year, requested the Namibia Qualification Authority (NAQ) to evaluate Rukamba’s qualifications.Yesterday, the Head of Qualifications, Mildred de Beer, would not deny or confirm whether Rukamba’s qualifications had been sent to NAQ offices for evaluation.”This sort of information is kept confidential between the customer and NAQ,” she said.The Namibian was reliably informed that the NAQ had requested certified transcripts of Rukamba’s qualifications and his highest school certificate to proceed with the evaluation.The Namibian was told that the evaluation process has come to a standstill because Rukamba failed to forward the requested documents to the NAQ offices.When approached for comment yesterday, Rukamba acknowledged that he had received a letter from the NQA requesting certified copies of his academic qualifications for evaluation.”I’ve sent these documents a long time ago,” he added.According to Rukamba, the evaluation was to check whether his qualifications were equivalent to the academic requirements for the director’s post.A request to investigate Rukamba’s qualifications was also lodged with the Anti-Corruption Commission, AAC Deputy Director Erna van der Merwe yesterday confirmed.”We’re in the process of conducting a preliminary inquiry into the matter to check whether it needs a full-scale investigation on the part of the AAC,” Van der Merwe said.When the post was advertised, it required an Honours degree in engineering, finance or public administration, or a qualification equivalent to a BTech degree in economics or development planning studies, plus nine years’ work experience.