Staff Writer
Agricultural Business Development Agency (Agribusdev) board has placed the company’s Managing Director, Petrus Uugwanga on suspension pending the completion of an investigation into various allegations leveled against the company.
“Yes, we have suspended him and this was done today (Monday),” Board Chairperson, Sophie Kasheeta told the Windhoek Observer.
The suspension, which will still see Uugwanga retaining his salary and benefits, is aimed at allowing the board to institute a thorough investigation into the government agency. Agribusdev has struggled to meet its role of improving the country’s food security.
“We are carrying out an investigation to get the facts right. We cannot hear about things happening and not do anything about it. The investigation will allow us to get to the facts about what has been happening,” she said.
Although it was not clear if the investigation was going to be outsourced, the company’s board is expected to meet Tuesday to finalise on the scope.
“The board will finalise those parts tomorrow (Tuesday). I am unfortunately not in a position to say more than I have at the moment,” Kasheeta said.
Contacted for comment if his ministry had approved the suspension, Public Enterprise minister, Leon Jooste confirmed that it had.
Jooste has previously highlighted his frustration over the agency’s historic problems and hinted on the possibility of the parastatal being merged as part of public enterprise reforms.
Uugwanga’s suspension also comes as the Namibia Farm Workers Union (NAFWU) had also pilled pressure on government, demanding the immediate removal of its management after it was revealed that the agency staff has gone for two months without salaries.
Agribusdev under the leadership of Uugwanga, has faced a barrage of allegations over the years including, but not limited to cases of alleged mismanagement and favoritism in the organization’s tender awarding process.
The government agency’s precarious financial position has seen it struggling to pay suppliers and salaries at some of its green schemes.
Earlier this year, the Windhoek Observer reported how the company awarded a multimillion-dollar fertilizer supply tender to South African company, Kynoch, whose Namibian agent was an employee of the government agency, despite the company not having bid for the tender.
