Renthia Kaimbi
Minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa declared that he had approved the appointment of former National Youth Council director, Calista Schwartz-Gowases as chief executive officer of the Tsumeb municipality effective 1 June 2026.
However, the newly appointed CEO has still not commenced work, with sources indicating that she is yet to receive a formal letter of appointment.
Sankwasa told the Windhoek Observer on Sunday that the matter was resolved, stating, “It’s water under the bridge. I already approved the appointment of the first recommended candidate Calista Schwartz, who I expected to assume duty on 01 June 2026.”
The delay comes after an internal dispute within the Tsumeb council, where a faction led by deputy mayor Lischen Classen and councillor Richard Naobeb formally challenged the decision-making process that led to the initial deviation from the interview panel’s recommendation.
In a joint representation to Sankwasa dated 30 April 2026, the two councillors detailed serious concerns about procedural irregularities and warned that the council management committee’s actions could expose the municipality to legal action.
According to the letter, a duly constituted interview panel conducted interviews on 20 April 2026 for the position of chief executive officer.
The panel recommended Schwartz-Gowases for appointment after she attained the highest assessment score of 65%, outperforming the second-ranked candidate, who scored 64%.
Despite this outcome, the management committee allegedly decided to depart from the panel’s recommendation in favour of the second-ranked candidate.
“Any departure from such recommendation, absent lawful, rational and procedurally fair grounds, may amount to a material deviation from the prescribed recruitment framework and may offend the constitutional guarantees embodied in Article 10 (Equality and Freedom from Discrimination) and Article 18 (Administrative Justice) of the Namibian Constitution,” the councillors wrote in their representation.
The letter further emphasised that the applicable regulatory framework requires that “appointments to posts within a Local Authority shall be made on the basis of merit, following a competitive selection process. The recommendation of the duly constituted interview panel shall form the primary basis for appointment, and any deviation therefrom must be properly motivated, recorded in writing, and approved by the competent authority.”
The councillors warned that a decision to appoint outside the recommended interview outcome may have legal and administrative implications, including “potential exposure to judicial or administrative review on grounds of procedural impropriety, irrationality, arbitrariness, legitimate expectation, and possible ultra vires conduct.”
The representation also noted that the council did not subject the matter to a formal division or vote to determine the collective position of council.
“This procedural omission raises concerns regarding the legitimacy and procedural fairness of the decision-making process and may amount to an unfair labour practice within the context of the Republic’s legal and administrative framework,” the councillors wrote.
The two councillors further placed on record that during the monthly council meeting held on 29 April 2026, they opposed in principle the proposed recruitment of the second-ranked candidate.
“Our position was informed by a conscientious commitment to merit-based governance, due process and the preservation of institutional integrity,” the letter states.
Sankwasa’s intervention approving Schwartz-Gowases would appear to align with the interview panel’s original recommendation, yet the failure to allegedly issue a formal appointment letter has left the process in limbo.
It remains unclear whether the delay is due to continued resistance of Schwartz-Gowases’ appointment from within the council or other unresolved governance issues.
The councillors have appealed to Sankwasa to uphold the recommendation of the interview panel and to ensure that the appointment process “remains aligned with the principles of legality, transparency, fairness and sound administrative justice.”
They further argued that the human resources manager as well as the acting chief executive officer Frans Enkali, as principal advisors to council, were enjoined to properly advise council by “according due weight to the recommendations of the interview panel and ensuring strict compliance with the applicable regulatory framework.”
Attempts to reach Schwartz-Gowases for comment were unsuccessful by the time of publication. Sankwasa did not clarify on why the appointment letter has not yet been issued, nor on what steps will be taken to enforce the approved appointment.
The Tsumeb municipality remains without a permanently appointed chief executive officer, raising questions about administrative stability and the rule of law in local government appointments.
Enkali, a retired chief regional officer of the Oshikoto region, was appointed in 2024 on what was supposed to be a three-month contract to oversee the recruitment of a permanent CEO.
Classen and Naobeb warned that any deviation from Schwartz-Gowases’ recommended appointment undermines public confidence in the integrity of municipal recruitment processes.
