By: Kelvin Chiringa
Top jobs are up for grabs at the newly created Sam Shivute-led Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRa) as the institution is now hunting for 21 managers.
The NamRa Chief Strategic Communications and Support Engagement, Stephen Ndorokaze confirmed the development.
The revenue agency reserved some jobs for staff within the finance ministry and left the managerial positions up for grabs for anyone outside the organisation.
NamRa has a tripartite agreement with the finance ministry and Napwu which regulated how the staff within the ministry would be absorbed and taken by the agency.
For managerial positions, the agreement stipulates that the latter would be advertised internally and externally for those who are not within the ministry to apply.
Ndorokaze said these are the positions they are currently dealing with.
But will NamRa afford to pay 21 managers in the short and long run?
“The short answer is yes. Remember this is a transition process where these functions that NamRa has now absorbed were currently undertaken by the ministry of finance and as far as budgeting is concerned you will find that there is a budget for NamRa.
“But there are also activities that are currently now and have since been transferred to NamRa but would have been budgeted for by the ministry of finance. So, as activities, functions and roles are being transferred completely to NamRa the hope is that the budgeting process or the accompanying budget allocation would also then follow suite,” said Ndorokaze.
He said for now they are not anticipating any shortfalls with regards to their budget.
The revenue agency has, as of late, battled reports that its top management had proposed and lined itself to benefit from fat salaries.
Ndorokaze has said the media reports have been “unfortunate”.
But the institution seems to be in the overdrive to take hold of the narrative by engaging various media organizations and take them through their inner-world of administration, vision and scope of work.
“If you had only gotten access to the first report you would have ended with the impression that you have stated in your question (that managers are destined for fat salaries).
“The submission that they (media) were attributing to NamRa’s management was actually a submission that was made by a consultant that was working on what would be an appropriate sitting remuneration framework for NamRa and this was in anticipation of NamRa being established,” he said.
Ndorokaze said the proposals was made before NamRa was even birthed adding that the suggestion was thus not from the agency’s management.
