Namcor staff turn against interim boss

Employees at the leaky national oil company Namcor are up in arms over what they term nepotism and favouritism by interim managing director Ebson Uanguta.

Uanguta, who was seconded from the Bank of Namibia in January this year, stands accused - by multiple anonymous sources inside the company - of constantly overlooking employees when it comes to appointments and rather opting for external recruitment without giving those within the system a chance to progress upwards.

Concerns over his alleged close proximity with some executives are contained in an anonymous whistle-blower letter sent to finance minister Ipumbu Shiimi last week. Shiimi said the letter has yet to reach his office.

The complaint also stated that a culture of uncertainty permeates the oil company.

But amid the litany of allegations, Uanguta has played it cool, telling Namibian Sun: “I need to sit with the concerned staff and hear from them”.

‘Lack of internal capacity’

According to employees, upon his arrival, Uanguta adopted a consultative leadership approach which saw him holding departmental meetings to gauge staff morale and to understand the challenges they face.

But not long after, when the positions of new venture manager and inventory manager became available, the latter position was allegedly occupied by an external candidate. When questioned by employees why they were overlooked, Uanguta allegedly cited a lack of internal capacity.

Similarly, Namcor’s plan to split the downstream department into two - supply and logistics and sales and marketing - also raised ire within employee ranks.

In this regard, they cited the appointment of Frans Kalenga as the acting executive for sales and marketing. Kalenga was roped into Namcor from the ministry of mines and energy to spearhead the sustainable energies portfolio on a three-year contract. He served as a technical advisor to the minister.

The employees claimed that they had “been hearing rumours about Frans [being] lined up to be appointed into an executive position [in the] downstream [department], but everyone thought it was just a daydream”.

They added: “To our surprise, this premeditated action has been taken. One wonders if this arrangement was approved by the board”.

“This appointment raises serious concerns about favouritism, non-compliance, corruption, victimisation and professionalism within Namcor. There are many qualified individuals within the organisation who could lead this department effectively, but they have been overlooked and this is purely an insult to their intelligence.”

Friends in high places

The creation of a chief operations officer position for the downstream department has also caused friction within Namcor, especially when news broke that the incumbent executive for business strategy and performance management, Shiwana Ndeunyema, will act in that position.

“Both these appointees [Ndeunyema and Kalenga] are to act in these positions for a short period of time before they are permanently appointed in their positions. This tells you that this is a premeditated plan to appoint friends and associates in influential positions,” the staffers alleged.

Namibian Sun can confirm that these changes were made with the blessing of the new Namcor board of directors. Uanguta made a board submission on 6 August, seeking approval to realign management structures.

According to the submission, this is an interim management structure aimed at redeploying skilled and competent personnel following multiple suspensions and resignations, and to realise the effective implementation of the company’s turnaround strategy without creating undue expenditure.

“In implementing the proposed interim structure, due consideration must be accorded to talent retention within the organisation, and where possible allow for appropriate employee repurposing and redeployment,” it read.

He proposed the creation of a chief operations officer position to provide strategic oversight and to control and reduce undue expenditure, according to the submission.

Internal sources pointed out that Kalenga has been supporting an already strained downstream business and has been praised for securing a lucrative contract for the company. Ndeunyema was praised by the previous board for having developed the company’s turnaround strategy and securing funding during his tenure as acting managing director, after now-axed head Immanuel Mulunga was placed on suspension. “Ndeunyema saved us from liquidation,” the source said.

In his submission, Uanguta stated that “each executive will have a defined scope of work, leading to faster decision-making and more efficient management of resources".

Mass exodus

According to the source, there are factions brewing within the company.

This latest scuffle between management and the staffers comes after an executive exodus at Namcor, beginning with Mulunga who was dismissed last month. Eight other managers are currently on suspension.

While the country is basking in the current oil discovery glory, Namcor is also in court for several cases, chief among those being a case in which one of Namcor’s subsidiaries is trying to recoup about N$266 million owed to it by Erongo Petroleum.

Namcor Petroleum Trading and Distribution now wants the court to sanction the liquidation of Erongo Petroleum.