By Victor Angula /
The Town Council of Omuthiya is searching for a new chief executive officer.
As an equal opportunity employer committed to implementing the aims and objectives of the Affirmative Action Act the town has thus sent out an outside advertisement for suitable, qualified, dedicated and energetic Namibian citizens to apply for the position of Chief Executive Officer.
In the advertisement which was run in a local daily earlier this month, the remuneration package for the prospective CEO shows that the CEO will receive a monthly salary ranging between N$28,000 and N$30,000, a vehicle allowance of N$114,475 per annum, housing allowance of 20% of basic salary if not owning a house in the town, or a housing subsidy of 40% of basic salary if owning a house, a cellphone allowance of N$1,200 per month and a 13th cheque bonus.
While the town of Omuthiya is the capital of Oshikoto region and the town has seen a rapid growth in infrastructural development over the last 10 years, so that the CEO has a huge task in planning, leading, coordinating, controlling and managing all executive affairs of the town council on business principles, attract current and potential investors while ensuring full compliance with all legislative, socio-political and environmental requirements,
so that the remuneration package for the top manager of the town could be justified when compared to the huge responsibilities on his or her shoulders,
the one item on the list of the package that stands out and raises an eyebrow is the cellphone allowance.
The cellphone allowance of N$1,200 per month for an official who has a landline in the office to do most of the official communication relating to his work is clearly a bit too much of an expense for the council.
When contacted for comment the acting CEO of Omuthiya Mr Paulus Mulondo referred this reporter to the town’s HR manager Mr Jason Erkkison.
“The cellphone allowance is a directive from the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development; it’s part of the CEO’s benefits. It’s what all CEOs are getting. We cannot bypass the regulation, if we don’t give it as it is the CEO can challenge us,” Erkkison said.
The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development’s deputy Executive Director Mr Lameck Uyepa confirmed that the cellphone allowance is a directive from his ministry.
“They do have that as part of their condition of service. But the amount is not applicable to everyone. For the villages and towns the amount is much less than that. The amount you have quoted is applicable only to municipal councils,” Uyepa said.
“The amount might be a bit high but the unions will not allow their members’ conditions of service to be changed unilaterally. You have to engage the unions if you have to change these things.”
The town of Omuthiya is said to have 2,800 residents, of whom only 1,000 are males according to the Census of 2011.
In the photo: The logo of Omuthiya Town (courtesy of omuthiyatc.com).
