Africa-Press – Namibia. CEO of the Oniipa Town Council Junias Jakob has accused the chairperson of the management committee, Jafet Augustus, of interfering with the council’s recruitment and procurement processes.
In a lengthy statement reflecting on his suspension, Jakob said he and the majority of senior staff members at the town council continue to suffer humiliation on the grounds of ethnic discrimination.
He referred to a meeting, where he and some staff members were told by Augustus to disregard recruitment and selection regulations. Jakob said Augustus pushed for this, despite regulations prescribing that the positions first be advertised internally, and only if a suitable candidate could not be found, advertised externally.
“At the same meeting, they were told that the CEO and his senior staff members are not from Oniipa and the Ondonga clan, and therefore do not deserve to sit in the offices of Oniipa Town Council,” he said.
Jakob believes there is a political agenda to get rid of him because he refused to allow councillors to use council vehicles to attend Swapo rallies. He said the councillors reported the matter to Swapo’s leadership in the Oshikoto region.
Jakob also said that although Augustus serves as councillor at Oniipa, he is not a resident of the town but lives at Ondangwa. “[He] is illegally serving in the Oniipa Town Council when he only owns a shebeen [at Oniipa]. The current council was recently advised of this illegality but disregarded it,” he said.
Jakob said he has been reliably informed that Augustus is scheming to make sure that his employment contract is not renewed because he has “already head-hunted someone who will take over”. Jakob alleged that Augustus claimed that the CEO contract was “unconstitutionally renewed”.
“On 10 November 2021, the same councillor instigated the mayor and deputy mayor not to sign a document required by the court to allow a resident, whom he instigated to fight the council, to be given eight plots, as compensation from the council at the expense of the masses,” Jacobs said.
Jakob alleged that this resident has been blocking a section of a sewerage project since December 2019. The matter has gone through the courts, which ruled in favour of the council, however, the resident has appealed the ruling with the Supreme Court, Jakob said.
“Subsequent to this, the councillor dragged other councillors to an unlawful meeting, demanding that the CEO respond to questions clearly aimed at frustrating him,” said Jacobs.
Yesterday, Augustus convened a meeting with Oniipa mayor David Kambonde, his deputy and three other councillors to suspend Jakob. Augustus told The Namibian that he was in a meeting and could not respond to a text sent to his mobile. Meanwhile, Kambonde referred The Namibian to Augustus.
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