Time’s up for TransNamib’s Shaetonhodi

TRANSNAMIB Chief Executive Officer John Shaetonhodi enters his last month at the transport parastatal this week after the Board of Directors indicated that they are unlikely to renew his contract.

Shaetonhodi’s position has been advertised in newspapers over the past few months and The Namibian has it on good authority that he also indicated to some key staff members and friends that he was looking for greener pastures elsewhere. His departure will signal the end of a controversial period in the history of TransNamib after Shaetonhodi brought in several confidantes and got rid of long-serving employees – some of whom decided to take the company to court.Some of these cases are still ongoing.Over the past two years Shaetonhodi’s management reported that they had stabilised the financial situation at the company.He also said that they had bought several locomotives from China.Several of the people he brought in, however, left after allegations of favouritism and nepotism surfaced.The most notable was the General Manager for Human Resources, Jason Hamunyela, who was dismissed by the Board after he was found guilty of having not followed company policies and procedures and of being involved in a dubious tender deal.Hamunyela used company property to do private consultancy work and increased his salary by 43 per cent from N$226 260 a year to N$324 240 in June 2004 – an increase of N$97 980.Another allegation for which he was found guilty was that he changed the contract details of a security tender awarded to a company he was also linked to.Shaetonhodi was also said to have appointed a relative, Olivia Kanyemba-Usiku, as public relations officer although she is a nurse by profession.When The Namibian reported on her appointment in 2005, Kanyemba-Usiku took out a full-page advertisement in newspapers and claimed the reporter had a “hidden agenda” or was simply “too lazy” to get his facts right.Shaetonhodi subsequently said the reporter must “retire and go and rest”.”Do not project the figment of your imagination onto us.We are very busy at Trans­Namib to be bothered with silly questions.I am constrained to say your mind appears to be full of smoke and it needs decarbonising,” Shaetonhodi wrote in an e-mail to the reporter.Kanyemba-Usiku resigned from her position at the end of last year and so did Brian Black, General Manager of Marketing and Sales, and the company’s legal advisor-cum-company secretary, Silas Kishi Shakumu.Black said he intended to explore other opportunities while Shakumu started a law school.Shakumu felt “cheated” by the company, as he reportedly did the work of a legal advisor and company secretary but was paid the entry-level salary of a company secretary.Sources said the board was not aware of the discrepancies because they were not informed by the CEO.When Shakumu’s contract expired, TransNamib offered to renew it but he refused because of the low job grade and perks.His departure will signal the end of a controversial period in the history of TransNamib after Shaetonhodi brought in several confidantes and got rid of long-serving employees – some of whom decided to take the company to court.Some of these cases are still ongoing.Over the past two years Shaetonhodi’s management reported that they had stabilised the financial situation at the company. He also said that they had bought several locomotives from China.Several of the people he brought in, however, left after allegations of favouritism and nepotism surfaced.The most notable was the General Manager for Human Resources, Jason Hamunyela, who was dismissed by the Board after he was found guilty of having not followed company policies and procedures and of being involved in a dubious tender deal.Hamunyela used company property to do private consultancy work and increased his salary by 43 per cent from N$226 260 a year to N$324 240 in June 2004 – an increase of N$97 980.Another allegation for which he was found guilty was that he changed the contract details of a security tender awarded to a company he was also linked to.Shaetonhodi was also said to have appointed a relative, Olivia Kanyemba-Usiku, as public relations officer although she is a nurse by profession.When The Namibian reported on her appointment in 2005, Kanyemba-Usiku took out a full-page advertisement in newspapers and claimed the reporter had a “hidden agenda” or was simply “too lazy” to get his facts right.Shaetonhodi subsequently said the reporter must “retire and go and rest”.”Do not project the figment of your imagination onto us.We are very busy at Trans­Namib to be bothered with silly questions.I am constrained to say your mind appears to be full of smoke and it needs decarbonising,” Shaetonhodi wrote in an e-mail to the reporter.Kanyemba-Usiku resigned from her position at the end of last year and so did Brian Black, General Manager of Marketing and Sales, and the company’s legal advisor-cum-company secretary, Silas Kishi Shakumu.Black said he intended to explore other opportunities while Shakumu started a law school.Shakumu felt “cheated” by the company, as he reportedly did the work of a legal advisor and company secretary but was paid the entry-level salary of a company secretary.Sources said the board was not aware of the discrepancies because they were not informed by the CEO.When Shakumu’s contract expired, TransNamib offered to renew it but he refused because of the low job grade and perks.