Africa-Press – Namibia. Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare has written to the Ministry of Finance to demand answers on the reported 400 missing cattle from the troubled Meat Corporation of Namibia (Meatco).
The Premier’s missive through the Secretary to Cabinet, Emilia Mkusa, was directed to the executive director of the finance ministry, Michael Humavindu, who was given until last week Wednesday, to provide a formal briefing and explanation on the alleged disappearance of 400 cattle from Meatco.
“I write to request a formal briefing and explanation from your esteemed office regarding recent public reports alleging the disappearance of approximately 400 head of cattle from Meatco. Given Meatco’s strategic role in the livestock and meat industry and its oversight relationship with your ministry, the reported incident has triggered serious public concern relating to corporate accountability at Meatco. The alleged disappearance of such a large number of cattle under the watch of a state-owned enterprise is wholly unacceptable,” reads Ngurare’s letter.
Yesterday, Humavindu said the reported 400 missing cattle were reported to the Stock Theft Unit of the Namibia Police in Okahandja by Meatco and police investigations are currently ongoing.
If the disappearance of the 400 cattle proves to be true, Ngurare said, prompt action must be taken to hold those at the helm of Meatco accountable, as much as the act is an outright betrayal of public trust and signals a collapse of Meatco’s institutional integrity.
“If it is a fact, it reflects a potential breakdown in internal controls and governance mechanisms, which must be urgently addressed to preserve public trust and uphold institutional integrity. In this regard, I request an urgent written briefing on the matter. Given the gravity of the matter, I kindly request that your briefing be submitted to the Office of the Prime Minister by Wednesday, 25 June 2025.”
Rogue agreement
In a letter dated 25 June 2025, Meatco’s acting CEO Patrick Liebenberg confirmed the reported shortage of cattle at Meatco to Humavindu, but did not provide a detailed number of the missing cattle.
He said Meatco had entered a feeding contract with Linden beef feedlot at Farm Eendrag in the Hochfeld area, where the reported cattle went missing in May this year.
The agreement with Linden beef feedlot was to receive Meatco’s own communal animals from Meatco buying days in communal regions south of the Veterinary Cordon Fence and feed these animals in the feedlot until they are slaughtered and ready for delivery to Meatco Windhoek abattoir.
“From 2023 until May 2025, Meatco and Linden Beef Feedlot had a perfect working relationship in terms of the agreement. Thousands of cattle were received the feedlot, fed and delivered for slaughter. The Meatco livestock procurement department and the Meatco finance department have a system in place for month-end biological stock takes. Finance accountants reconcile, verify, and provide a biological stock sheet per feeding facility at the end of each month…”
“The first indication of cattle shortage happened on 01 May 2025, during the scheduled pre-arranged ear tag scan session. The incident was reported, and further management actions followed. A second and final pre-arranged counting and ear tag scan session on 20-23 May 2025 yielded a shortage of cattle at the Linden beef feedlot.
Legal action
Liebenberg further confirmed that Meatco’s remaining cattle are still at Farm Eendrag and reported missing cattle have since been reported to the Stock Theft Unit of the Namibia Police in Okahandja.
Plans are also underway to relocate all the remaining cattle from farm Eendrag to another feeding establishment.
“Meatco will use a commercial lawyer appointed through the public procurement process to pursue further the stock theft case against David van der Linden [owner of Linden Beef Feedlot]. Van der Linden is currently being held in the Okahandja prison, so Meatco’s engagement in the case will continue through the lawyers,” said Liebenberg.
Last week, seasoned executive Sakaria Nghikembua resigned as Meatco’s chairperson due to reported unlawful government directives that do not serve the best interest of the struggling state-owned meat entity.
Among the many directives that Nghikembua deemed unlawful and not in the best interest of Meatco was the directive to reinstate the entity’s former CEO, Mwilima Mushokabanji, whom the board accused of having failed to rescue Meatco from financial ruin and overall decline.
Underperformance
Not only has Mushokabanji’s proposed reinstatement caused division within the country’s political arena, but it has equally caused dismay among the country’s top governance experts and industry leaders.
In recent years with Mushokabanji at its helm, Meatco became a perennial underperforming entity, if records in the public domain are anything to go by. Its financial assets and local market share are dwindling at an alarming rate.
Meatco’s performance since 2010 shows that its market share dropped from 48% in 2015 to below 15% during the 2023 financial year. Prolonged periods of drought experienced between 2015 and 2020 impacted the overall beef value chain and meant higher slaughter numbers for export abattoirs.
The decline in market share has, therefore, become a steady trend outside of the peaks in years of drought. It is evident that in the last four years, Meatco’s competitors’ share of the total animals marketed has seen a steady increase from 1% in 2020 to 8% in 2022.
During the same period, Meatco’s share of the total animals marketed decreased from 33% in 2011 to 25% in 2020 to a worrying 15% in 2022. Meatco’s share of the total animals slaughtered at export abattoirs has reduced from more than 94% in 2011, a high of 97% in 2016, to a low of 61% in 2022 and 55% in 2023, the latest available figures reveal.
Meatco has experienced shrinking gross profit margins, which, combined with reduced throughput, have resulted in massive losses since 2018. These losses increased significantly from N$119 million in 2021 to N$205 million in 2022 and an estimated N$196 million in 2023.
The history of Meatco’s interest-bearing loans shows a move away from commercial banks to 100% of interest-bearing loans being held by the DBN during the 2023 and 2024 financial years.
The government settled Meatco’s debt facilities to the DBN, amounting to N$530 million, during October 2023.
It further extended direct financial support to Meatco amounting to N$83 million during the 2023 financial year and an additional N$135 million during the 2024 fiscal year. Meatco’s remaining loan from the DBN, amounting to N$250 million and extended during November 2023, is guaranteed by the government.
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