THE Telecom Namibia board is allegedly divided over the appointment of the chief executive officer of the ailing parastatal.
The deadlock has allegedly led to the board offering the company’s chief of human resources, Andrew Kanime, a six-month stint in an acting capacity.
The Namibian has learnt that Kanime, who was offered the acting post three weeks ago, has until Friday to accept or reject the offer.
Sources say Kanime outperformed all aspirants during the interviewing process, scoring the highest, while Telecom Namibia’s chief strategy officer Theo Klein came out second.
The other two shortlisted candidates are the company’s chief financial officer Robert Offner and Jochen Traut, who is the chief operating officer at the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN).
The interviewing panel was made up of the Telecom Namibia board, while Johnny Smith, Monica Kalondo and Alisa Amupolo were guest panelists.
The Namibian learnt that after the interviews, the Telecom Namibia board had to decide who was the most suitable candidate.
Board members Roger Gertze and Immanuel Awene allegedly opted for Kanime, while chairperson Catherine Beukes-Amiss and board member Feitjie Veldskoen wanted Klein to get the job.
Sources said that Beukes-Amiss and Veldskoen have reservations over Kanime because of internal investigations which could allegedly implicate him.
Telecom sources however said that the entire Telecom Namibia executive management team was tainted and subject to the said internal investigations, which means that question marks should also hang over Klein’s head.
A source told The Namibian that the board should not have allowed any of the current Telecom executives to apply for the job but should have appointed someone from outside if it was worried about internal investigations.
The source further said that by not appointing Kanime, it would indicate that the board is undermining its own recruitment process, meaning it had a predetermined outcome of the process.
Sources said that because of the impasse, the board offered Kanime a six-month contract as acting chief executive officer as a stop-gap measure. Kanime is allegedly reluctant to take up the post.
He could not be reached for comment as he did not pick up his mobile phone, nor did he respond to a text message sent to him.
Telecom Namibia sources said that information and communication technology minister Joel Kaapanda and his deputy Stanley Simataa held a meeting with the Telecom board, last Wednesday.
At the meeting Kaapanda allegedly pledged to support whoever the board chose as the best candidate for the position which falls vacant next month.
Those in the know said Kaapanda reassured the board that they have the right to choose a candidate they feel is fit to run the company, after talk that Kaapanda favoured Kanime to get the job, began making the rounds.
Attending that meeting was Beukes-Amiss, Veldskoen, Awene and outgoing Telecom chief executive officer Frans Ndoroma.
Telecom Namibia board chairperson Beukes-Amiss refused to comment, saying the board will issue a media statement once the process of appointing a chief executive officer is concluded.
Kaapanda could not be reached, while Simataa said both he and the minister are out of the country and referred questions to Beukes-Amiss.
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