Fishcor company secretary quits

Fishcor company secretary quitsAnother resignation at embattled fishing firm It is unclear whether the recent spate of resignations was prompted by the ongoing Fishrot case that has drawn global attention. OGONE TLHAGE





WINDHOEK

The latest departure at the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia (Fishcor) is that of company secretary Josefina Nekongo, who threw in the towel earlier this month and is currently completing her notice period.

Last year, manager for operations Inocencio Verde also tendered his resignation.

The company’s controversial finance boss Paulus Ngalangi is now the only remaining executive at the embattled fishing firm after its former CEO Mike Nghipunya was jailed for corruption.

Verde, Ngalangi and Nghipunya were the key decision-makers during a stormy period which saw the company used to execute the Fishrot scandal.

It is unclear whether the recent spate of resignations was prompted by the ongoing Fishrot case that has drawn global attention.

Nghipunya and the company’s former board chairperson James Hatuikulipi are currently trail-awaiting prisoners in the matter, facing charges of, amongst others, using Fishcor’s quotas to enrich themselves at the expense of the state.

Determined

With Nekongo on her way out, Fishcor board chairperson Mihe Goamab II said they remain determined to ensure that the entity is well-capacitated at management level, despite effectively only having Ngalangi serving at executive level.

Ngalangi at one point also served as the acting CEO of Fishcor, but was removed last year.

“With the resignation of the company secretary widely published, we remain resolved to ensure capacity at management level. The general manager [of] finance is still in our employ as per his employment obligation to Fishcor,” Gaomab II said.

While there are also talks that Ngalangi plans to leave the company by July, questions on his future plans went unanswered.

Gaomab II said the recruitment process for a substantive CEO for the company is at an advanced stage.

The appointment has, however, been postponed to April because of outstanding psychometric tests that have been conducted on shortlisted candidates, the chairperson said.

The last time the company had a CEO was in late 2019 before Nghipunya’s contract was terminated in November 2020.