Martin Endjala
Joseph Isaacks, the //Karas Region Chairperson wants the recruitment shortlist of the Namibian Police to be recalled after serious complaints and concerns were brought to the attention of his office.
He said failure to do so, will lead to a “very unpleasant reaction”.
His call follows after 2 530 applications were submitted to the Nampol recruitment process in the region. Only 1 330 applicants met the requirements and 1 200 did not, while 185 were shortlisted of which only 50 will be slotted in from the region.
A group of concerned residents launched a complaint to the office of the Regional Chairperson citing unfairness. The group alleged that the majority of the applicants that were shortlisted are predominantly from the northern regions. This has caused anger among the inhabitants who were born in the //Karas Region and did not make the cut despite meeting the necessary requirements.
Isaacks during an address yesterday said that upon receiving the complaints, he went through the list and noticed that 90 percent of the shortlisted candidates are predominantly from the North. He said that when he compared it with other regions like Zambezi and Omaheke, preference was given to its demographic regional inhabitants. He added that he was surprised by the manner in which the shortlisting from the //Karas Region was done and said that is very questionable.
“What is the problem of recruiting regional-born people? In our conversation with the Regional Commander, Commissioner Marius Katamila, I said that there is a difference between those who migrate to the region and those who are born there, so the notion of saying we are being regionalist or tribalist and racist and so forth is not the case. The fact of the matter is that our people born in the region were not given preference in the first place,” Isaaks said.
The exclusion of the region’s youth from such recruitment is said to be amongst the reasons why the region has been forced to deal with the scourge of high unemployment rates. The continuation of the sidelining of people from the region and reportedly giving preference to outsiders is one of the main reasons why young people are unable to acquire decent jobs.
“Our region is always last in the line when it comes to jobs, food aid and many developmental projects. Why is it like that? If you visit our regional institutions of government right now, you will not see a regional-born person in the top positions. We have become the push-backs of other regions, these top positions are dominated by them, and we say enough is enough. We have nothing against our northern counterparts, in fact, we harmonise together. All we are saying is that we will no longer tolerate this. It is time that our native people start benefiting equally from the resources of this country because they are also entitled to it,” he said.
He demanded that both the Regional Commander and the Inspector General, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo reconsider and recall the recruitment shortlist.
He also called on President Hage Geingob to intervene in the matter. He held the President to his call, where he said that no one should feel left out in a united Namibian house.
Isaacks stated that people have been left outside the house and the President must act right now to rectify the situation.
He is of the opinion that the poverty currently prevailing in the South is not by accident or real economic situation but by pre-planned action.
“We can no longer tolerate this injustice. What is going on in this country? A hungry man is an angry man. We are victims of economic regression and suppression which is inflicted on us. This complaint will not end here. We will react and I will stand with the region till the end”, Isaacks said.
He wants the recruitment process to be stopped, recalled and redone. He also advocated for inclusivity and his humble plea is for the leadership to avert what will happen.
Meanwhile, the //Kharas Regional Commander, Commissioner Marius Katamila, told the Windhoek Observer that he is aware of the concerns raised in a meeting held yesterday with the Chairperson.
He explained that he is not involved in the recruitment process. He said that he is only here to facilitate the process which the Human Resource Management is tasked to carry out.
Katamila said that of the 1 000 jobs as announced during the State of the Nation Address by the President earlier this year, 250 will come from the National Youth Service and 750 from all regions, with 50 coming from each region. On the concern raised, the commissioner said that all those shortlisted met the requirements, and those who did not, perhaps lacked an E symbol in English or a driver’s license, or academically. He stressed that if an applicant does not meet these requirements they will not be shortlisted.
After meeting the regional Governor, the Chairperson and the concerned group, Katamila said that he can only stop or recall the recruitment process of the //Kharas Region if the Inspector General gives him such a directive.
“I am here to prevent crime, but those individuals who feel they were wrongfully not shortlisted despite having met all the requirements, can launch such complaints to my office. I am obliged to look into the matter and compare the information at hand to get to the bottom of it,” the Commissioner explained.
