OTJIWARONGO: The Otjiwarongo Municipality will as of Friday operate without substantive strategic executives including a chief executive officer (CEO) after all its top five executives have tendered their resignations or went on early retirement.

This is according to the Otjiwarongo Municipality chairperson of the management committee, Godhardt Hoko in an interview with Nampa on Monday, who revealed that the five executives left the municipality between March 2023 and April 2024.

The five vacancies include that of the CEO, strategic executive for finance, human resources, technical and community and economic development services.

‘These executives left the municipality not because there was hostility, but for their greener pastures or to attend to other callings in their lives.

For now, the municipality has a council resolution to have a substantive CEO be recruited first, and once hired, assist the municipality in recruiting the other four strategic executives,’ said Hoko.

The position of CEO is still v
acant since the departure of Moses Matyayi who joined the City of Windhoek in a similar position as of July 2023.

Hoko explained that the town’s current acting CEO, Erickson Mwanyekange who is the strategic executive for community and economic development services has also resigned from the municipality with 26 April being his last official working day.

‘Therefore, as of Friday this week the municipality will not have a substantive top executive, which is a bad situation for its operations,’ said Hoko, adding that the municipality in March this year recommended to the line Ministry of Urban and Rural Development the name of a male candidate who attended interviews on the position of CEO, after he was shortlisted from a total 47 applicants who had applied for the top position.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency