The Chief Executive Officer of the Business Intellectual Property Authority, Vivienne Katjiuongua, was this week hurled over live coals in front of her staff by youth from the Students Union of Namibia over slow progress in the business registration process.
Speaking to Eagle FM, Katjiuongua admitted that BIPA is yet to take its system online for smooth registration processes and the manual system was slowing progress.
But she was accused by Oscar Mwandingi from SUN of incompetence and that she should pack her bags and leave the institution.
Mwandingi and co approached BIPA offices with a loudspeaker calling for the CEO to come down from her office to hear their grievances.
No words were exchanged between the two parties after which the CEO addressed the situation on the ground at BIPA to Eagle FM.
She then requested that the youths put their requests and grievances in writing to allow her office to deal with them formally.
“We are tired! We are tired of you people acting as a monopoly yet you are given the mandate to register businesses but you are not doing your work. If you are unable to do your work, give back the department to the ministry of trade because you are failing everyone. People are supposed to come to register their businesses with the hope of getting an income but there is nothing that is being done,” one irate youth said.
Mwandingi said name reservations were taking up to two months at BIPA.
“A normal close corporation is taking more than two months. We want to do business. Your jobs are secured. We do not have jobs. We want to register companies so that we can benefit from tenders,” said Mwandingi.
The CEO said they had met with the frustrated youth days before they decided to take things to another level by picketing in front of her institution.
“I think the protestors are exercising their right as citizens who need services that are satisfactory but they would be honest to tell you that we had a meeting with them last week where they gave their complaints which complaints we are addressing.” – Kelvin Tjiringa
