Ndishishi moves to Prime Minister’s Office

FORMER health ministry permanent secretary Andrew Ndishishi moved to the Office of the Prime Minister, in a development those close to him have called a witch-hunt.

has learned that Ndishishi moved to his new office last Thursday. Sources said he is now stationed at Public Service Management, where he occupies the office which was used by Etienne Maritz, who is the current executive director in President Hage Geingob’s private office.

Maritz was a deputy permanent secretary when he occupied that office and was promoted to run the President’s Office at State House.

The most senior civil servant in the public service management division has always been an undersecretary and after the regrading of civil servants’ positions, all undersecretaries became deputy permanent secretaries.

Putting Ndishishi in that position, sources said, could point to a demotion, while government has not registered a disciplinary case against him.

Ndishishi will become the third permanent secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office after former mines and energy permanent secretary Kahijoro Kahuure was also brought to the same office in July, joining Nangula Mbako.

Senior government sources said Ndishishi was one of the few permanent secretaries being victimised because they did not support Geingob before he took over from former President Hifikepunye Pohamba.

Those in the know said as part of the victimisation “the powers that be decided to park” Ndishishi in a meaningless portfolio where he could be frustrated.

The sources said the move is consistent with the way in which other permanent secretaries like Erastus Negonga, Joseph Iita and Peter Mwatile have been treated.

Iita and Negonga are fighting for their jobs after they were unprocedurally removed from their positions in April, shortly after Geingob took office.

Mwatile was removed from the works and transport ministry, which is responsible for all the major capital projects in the country. He was moved to the Office of the Vice President, who is also responsible for the veterans’ affairs ministry.

It is not clear what Mwatile’s role and responsibilities are since the veterans’ ministry already has a permanent secretary.

Sources added that the veterans’ ministry did not even have a budget for a second permanent secretary.

The Namibian has learned that the ministry was forced to use the budget allocated to the special adviser to the veterans’ ministry to pay Mwatile, since his position was not budgeted for.

The special adviser’s position has remained vacant since late Frederick Matongo’s death two years ago.

Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has said that it was not true that Ndishishi is a victim of a witch-hunt, nor was he ‘parked’ without any terms of reference.

She referred questions regarding his new role and responsibilities to the Secretary to Cabinet, George Simataa.

Simataa said he would only be able to give The Namibian details around Ndishishi’s new role and responsibilities tomorrow. Ndishishi declined to comment.

Early this year, President Geingob allegedly offered Ndishishi an ambassadorial posting to South Africa but he reportedly turned it down.

Ndishishi has been at the helm of the health ministry since 2012. He has also been accused of running the ministry in an arbitrary manner.

Between 2007 and 2012, he served as the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry. Before that he served as permanent secretary at the trade ministry as well as the National Planning Commission.