Dismissed Namibia Airports Company board members to appeal to president over alleged unauthorized interference

The minister of works and transport dismissed five NAC board members this week over allegations related to the sale of vehicles to executives at a price of N$5,000 after the Covid-19 pandemic. The board members contend that the N$5,000 buyout was taken out of context, especially as it involved forfeiting the employee vehicle scheme, which saved the parastatal over N$40 million. They also claim the minister did not consider that the company transitioned from being loss-making to profitable, paying dividends to the state.

Board member Matthew //Gowaseb, who was fired along with Elizabeth Peterson, Lucien Mouton, Carol Williams, and Ferdinand Nghiyolwa, questioned Nekundi's legal authority to appoint or remove NAC board members. //Gowaseb, a former Namibian Broadcasting Corporation director general, asserts that under the Public Enterprises Governance Act, only the minister responsible for public enterprises had such authority, though that ministry was disbanded last year, placing state-owned enterprises under their respective line ministries. The former board members expressed dismay over their removal, stating they cooperated with an investigation but rejected its conclusions. They highlighted that the NAC, under their tenure, went from losses of N$