Staff Writer
Barney Harmse, Paratus Group Chief Executive Officer, has fired shots at a latest post by ex-mayor, Dr. Job Amupanda, who this week described him as an “arrogant” “white… Paratus CEO guy” fighting the city’s telecommunications license.
Amupanda told thousands of his Facebook followers that the Paratus big wig confronted him during the night hours of August the 10th 2022 claiming to be a police officer.
He said this happened after the council passed a resolution to support its ownership of a Class Comprehensive Telecommunications Service License (ECNS and ECS).
This was granted by the Communications Regularity Authority of Namibia (CRAN) mainly due to an envisaged smart city services that CoW intends to provide, which the city could not provide under a Class Network Facilities Service License that was initially applied for.
Lately, CRAN went on record to say that in terms of regulation 11(9)(a) of the Procedure Regulations, they are authorised to issue the appropriate license category (in this case the Class Comprehensive Telecommunications Service License (ECNS and ECS)) without republishing the application.
The move has not been met with enthusiasm by some players who see this as detrimental to private business interests, and argue that the city must be confined to offering, land and water services.
CRAN has submitted that the Communications Act does not prohibit local authorities from holding telecommunications service licenses.
The regulator added that section 30 of the Local Authorities Act, 1992, provides a list of services that a local authority council shall provide to its residents, and that most of the services listed may only be provided efficiently through the establishment of communications network infrastructure.
Amupanda said Harmse is one of those fighting the city’s license.
Taking to his Facebook page this week, Amupanda said, “At the council meeting today (10 August 2022), we passed an important resolution to support and affirm our Telecommunication License. This was a while ago. As I drove home there was a car behind me.”
“I stopped to see the movement, and a white guy got out of the car. This is at 23h30. I realized that it is the Paratus CEO guy. He got out with (a) police card claiming to be a police officer. I told him I know him as a Paratus Guy and not a police officer.”
“I also told him that I don’t trust him and he must leave. As you know Paratus is fighting the City’s license. An arrogant guy taking chances with a wrong person! Atyopokela lela!!,” said the firebrant activist councilor.
However, taking to his Twitter account Friday afternoon, Harmse said there have been some unpleasant racial slurs that have been directed at Paratus.
He then posted a picture of himself and the company’s incoming Group CEO, hammering that they will continue to deliver jobs to ‘all Africans’.
“Based on some recent unpleasant racial slurs associated with Paratus Group, let me introduce the “White Guys”, Barney Harmse, Exec Chair, and Schalk Erasmus, new Group CEO, effective 1 Aug 2022, to continue building infrastructure and creating “Jobs” for all Africans,” said Harmse.
The company is freshly coming from scoring a major Supreme Court victory whose ruling stamped that the city was wrong in confiscating Paratus’ equipment and stopping its sub-contractor from laying fiber optic cable.
A fiber-optic cable, also known as an optical-fiber cable, is an assembly similar to an electrical cable, but containing one or more optical fibers that are used to carry light.
It is used for long-distance and high-performance data networking.
However, despite the victory Harmse said the battle was yet from over as there were strategic executives at the city intent on coming after Paratus.
In the meantime, the city submitted an application for a Class Network Facilities Service License, and the application was first published in the Government Gazette on 22 February 2019 (General Notice No. 30), and re-published on 26 March 2019 (General Notice No. 67) to properly allow the public to provide comments.
As per rule making procedure, the public/stakeholders were provided with an opportunity to submit comments in writing to the Authority within a period of fourteen (14) days, from the date the notice is published in the Gazette.
