Africa-Press – Namibia. SPORT minister Agnes Tjongarero should retract her reasons for firing the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) board and issue a public apology, the ex-communicated commissioners said through their legal representative on Tuesday.
Tjongarero was given until close of business yesterday or face unspecified consequences.
She fired the eight-member board on 24 May for “deliberate insubordination and ignoring directives from the appointing authority, as well as a directive from the office of the attorney general”.
The minister did not respond to The Namibian Sport’s query on the matter by close of business yesterday.
The axed commissioners are chairperson Joel Matheus, Erica Beukes, Alna Similo, Karen Mubonenwa, Thomas Mbeeli, Dr Marius Johannes, Nicklaus Ngumono and Linda Chicalu.
They do not want their jobs back but believe the minister’s reasons for firing them have stained their reputations, the aggrieved group’s legal counsel Norman Tjombe said in a leaked letter to Tjongarero.
The board’s term at the NSC was due to lapse on 13 June.
GOVERNANCE VIOLATION
Additionally, the minister’s interpretation of the Namibia Sports Act and her powers were flawed, the lawyer said.
“The minister’s power to give directives in terms of section 14(1) of the Namibia Sports Act, are limited to directives of a general character,” Tjombe said.
“The purported directive not to renew the contract of employment of the chief administrator [Freddy Mwiya] is not a directive of general character, but indeed of specific character, dealing specifically with the contract of employment of the current chief administrator – and not any other employee nor generally to any chief administrator in office in future. Therefore, the minister cannot rely on the powers under section 14(1) of the Namibia Sports Act,” he continued.
The sports commission should operate without interference from the minister who appointed its board, Tjombe continued.
“The minister’s persistent interferences are not only a violation of the principles of good corporate governance, but also contrary to the clear terms of the Namibia Sports Act and the very purpose for the establishment of the Namibia Sports Commission,” Tjombe argued.
“Otherwise, the functions of the Namibia Sports Commission would have fallen within the ministry, and its functionaries dealt with as employees directly under control of the ministry, had it been intended that the minister would compromise the independence of the commissioners of the Namibia Sports Commission,” he said.
Furthermore, Tjongarero dismissed the board for refusing to reverse “the unauthorised inflation” of Mwiya’s salary and that of the sport commission’s executive head of finance, Junias Hamalua.
Tjombe said the minister in writing on 8 April “condoned the salary adjustments on condition that no salary increases will be effected for a period of two years to bring the salary in line with the regulated rate”.
She did so after seeking directives from the minister of public enterprises, Tjombe said.
“The basis of our clients’ removal on those grounds is legally untenable, and therefore unlawful,” Tjombe contested.
“The purpose of the decision to remove our clients was to embarrass and defame them. Expressly and through innuendos, the impression is created that our clients have violated the law, cannot be trusted, incompetent, insubordinate, and dishonest, hence their removal,” he stated.
“Considering that the remaining portion of our clients’ tenure is short, our clients instructed us to inform you that they are not interested in being reinstated as commissioners of the Namibia Sports Commission.
“However, our clients are not able to leave the matter unattended as it has a profound impact on their reputations […]”
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