A leaked audio has opened the lid into a stormy meeting which the National Housing Enterprises (NHE) board chairperson, Sam Shivute, has accepted that he has failed to build 1 200 houses as promised.
Shivute faced defiant employees who have expressed a lack of confidence in the leadership at NHE.
In the meeting he also admitted to failing to secure land from the City of Windhoek to build houses.
Shivute can be heard saying that he is prepared to face his appointing authority and explain why he has failed to deliver.
However, to clamouring voices of discontent, Shivute who tried to take control of the meeting by calling some employees to order, said the NHE was in far better situation than Air Namibia.
He said the entity was not prone to liquidation in its current state.
The top management at NHE is said to have also called for the board of directors not to renew the employment contract of NHE CEO Gisbertus Mukulu when it ends on 30 June 2021.
“During Mr Gisbertus Mukulu’s tenure, NHE has built less than 600 houses against an ever-widening gap of housing shortages in Namibia. Under the leadership of the CEO, NHE operational income has declined to the extent that it hardly meets its salary obligations. Income from the Mass Housing Development Programme is what keeps NHE afloat. The Mass Housing Development Programme is not an initiative of Mr Gisbertus Mukulu but of his predecessor. The CEO lacks the necessary leadership skills to articulate and promote a modern and robust vision for the NHE. In this regard, a capacity assessment was conducted and paid for by the NHE, which confirms the lack of leadership and strategic capacity in NHE. The CEO lacks experience in the strategic and operational management of the NHE and has no understanding of the functioning of, and the requirements placed on an institution such as NHE,” says the petition.
