Alweendo supports publicising of SOE bosses’ salaries

NDAMA NAKASHOLE - Mines and energy minister Tom Alweendo supports the notion of having the salaries of senior management at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) made public.

In a statement delivered on the last day of parliament as it closed for recess, the minister responded to an earlier question by opposition MP Jenifer van den Heever who wanted to know why the salary of state-owned enterprise Namibia Desert Diamonds (Namdia)’s CEO is undisclosed to the public.

While highlighting the fact that there is no requirement that all salaries of CEOs at SOEs be made public, the minister said making public the salaries of bosses at all SOEs should be looked into.

“As a proponent of transparency, I would agree that in the future we should look into the issue of making remuneration of senior management at SOEs public,” he said.

Status quo

Alweendo said as it is now, he is not aware of any requirement that all salaries of SOE CEOs be made public.

What is publicly disclosed is the gazetted guidelines on remuneration at SOEs, indicating the range within which CEOs and senior management will be paid, he said.

“However, what is gazetted is not the actual remuneration being paid to CEOs of SOEs,” Alweendo said.

Journey to PE ministry

Alweendo in the same statement said they have started a process of updating the list (Schedule 1) of the country’s public enterprises where Namdia will be listed.

Namdia is currently not registered as an SOE under the ministry of public enterprises in terms of Schedule I of the Public Enterprises Governance Act.

The State-Owned Enterprise Governance Act of 2006 defines a state-owned enterprise as “an entity that is named in Schedule 1 to this Act”.

In their briefing paper titled “Public Enterprise Governance in Namibia” and published in September last year, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) simplified the definition as “simply a list of companies at the end of the act and any enterprise listed there is by definition a state-owned enterprise”.

The 2016 amendment to the Act defines a public enterprise as “a state-owned enterprise or state-owned company or any other entity established under any law or in terms of any other instrument, and the purpose of which is to advance any interest of the public”.

Alweendo said the only reason why Namdia is not listed in Schedule 1 is because the last time Schedule 1 was updated, Namdia was not in existence.

“We have started the process of updating Schedule 1 where Namdia will be listed,” Alweendo stated.

The bill

In his touch on the “law and politics” side of the government’s diamond sales and marketing SOE, Alweendo said not all SOEs are established under an Act of Parliament. He said that Namdia, just like MTC and Nampower, was established under the Companies Act. “It may be argued that it is desirable that all the SOEs be established by an Act of Parliament, but at the moment, it is not mandatory,” he said.

Since the establishment of the SOE in 2016 with a primary function of selling government diamonds, Namdia has been in spotlight filled with negative media reporting including the alleged sales of government diamonds at below-value prices.

“In 2016, the birth of Namdia enables Namibia to determine the value of her diamonds and contribute to her socio-economic development,” Namdia says on its website.