Cabinet is Protecting an Abattoir Manager’s Job?

Three weeks is a short time to start reaching conclusions about the performance of president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah (NNN).

Yet, there should be little respite for someone who has been in government with the same party for 35 years. It is, therefore, not premature to state that NNN’s pledge that “there will be no [longer] business as usual” is starting to sound like false advertising if we look at some telling steps she has taken.

It seemed the Swapo policy of ‘jobs for comrades’ – the incompetent ones for that matter – in government was no longer being pushed blatantly. Alas, president Nandi-Ndaitwah has not taken long to remind us that often the more things change, the more they tend to stay the same.

When The Namibian last year exposed a Cabinet instruction forcing the Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco) board to extend the chief executive’s contract for another five years, politicians came to their senses and allowed the directors to do their job. So it seemed.

It is now emerging that NNN and others, with the backing of brusque Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa, were merely biding their time.

They reportedly attacked former finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi for pointing out that it is against good governance for Cabinet to impose decisions on directors.

Nandi-Ndaitwah and Shaningwa apparently then claimed that the then finance minister was threatening Swapo support in the Zambezi region by not extending Mwilima Mushokabanji’s contract.

Mushokabanji, who has been at the meat processor and marketer for 10 years, has presided over a precipitous collapse of Meatco’s business, piling up losses to the extent that more than N$700 million of taxpayers’ money was needed to bail it out. Another N$224 million is budgeted this year to support the company.

Truth be told, Meatco is nothing but an oversized abattoir. So, what justification is there to spend hundreds of millions of dollars because of the failures of overpaid managers?

Meatco management’s incompetence with and under Mushokabanji is laid bare by the many private abattoirs that operate profitably with far fewer resources, let alone a government-backed quota for export to lucrative markets.

That Cabinet does not appear to be bothered by good governance, and has decided instead to devote precious time to saving the job of an abattoir manager because of apparent favouritism and a false narrative of vote buying is a worrying indicator for NNN’s new administration.

The ‘jobs for pals’ approach is not in the national interest.

It is a disservice to our people and nation. Economically, Namibia can hardly afford to subsidise non-performing comrades on the basis of party political interests. The national interest should supersede all interests.

President Nandi-Ndaitwah took office on the back of a wave of goodwill. Based in part on her corruption-free reputation, many Namibians dared to hope that she would be different.

Fighting to keep someone who has cost taxpayers about N$1 billion over the past five years is not a good omen. On the contrary. It is business as usual.

Imagine. Millions of dollars are being shelled out to essentially save the bacon of one person. What about the hundreds of thousands of Namibians who need a job, any job?

That money could be used to market the country’s beef and other agricultural products for export. Or it might be effective in helping systematically move the redline.

For its part, Meatco needs an effective leader. We cannot afford to play fast and loose with our meat industry – let alone taxpayer money.

The most effective way for a political party to retain support is to do what is right for the people they were elected to serve.

We need to put an end to partisan interests. Namibians deserve better. They voted for better.

The ball is in your court, president Nandi-Ndaitwah. It does not look like a good use of Cabinet time and energy to fight for an abattoir manager’s job.