By Tileni Mongudhi | 5 June 2013
NEWLY appointed TransNamib chief executive officer Sara Naanda ‘head-hunted’ a potential CEO for the parastatal and then competed against that person in a process which allegedly cost more than N$229 000.
The TransNamib board of directors, of which Naanda is the deputy chairperson, decided to ‘head-hunt’ for a CEO after failing to get their first choice. The board hired Christina Swart-Opperman of PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct the process, which sources say did not strictly follow TransNamib’s recruitment policies.
The Namibian understands that a recruitment drive which began in 2012 with the help of consultants HR@Work identified former Namibia Breweries Managing Director Desmond van Jaarsveld as the suitable candidate. Van Jaarsveld told The Namibian that he turned down the TransNamib offer after receiving other offers in October last year.
People with close knowledge of the recruitment process told The Namibian that the board then requested Naanda to ask Jerry Muadinohamba, head of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA), to make himself available as CEO of the parastatal. Naanda had more than two meetings with Muadinohamba before the MVA chief executive warmed to the idea.
After several telephone and face-to-face contact since Monday, TransNamib Acting CEO Struggle Ihuhua, said late yesterday that they would reply by latest Thursday.
Muadinohamba, who initially declined to speak to The Namibian until he was told the story would be written even without his comment, confirmed he was approached by Naanda and said he did not realise he had been called for a formal interview until he got to the meeting venue.
‘For me it was a meeting of minds to see whether they are interested in what I have to offer because I never applied,’ Muadinohamba said this week.
Muadinhamba said he was ‘shocked with disbelief to hear that Sara (Naanda) was running for the same job, after she approached me. Had I known that Sara was a candidate at the time of going to the meeting-turned-interview, I would not have continued with the process.’
Naanda, could not be reached for comment as she is out of the country with board chairman Festus Lameck.
When the ‘interview’ took place on 29 November, the discussions between Muadinohamba and Naanda had allegedly advanced to a possible secondment of the MVA chief to TransNamib.
Muadinohamba said he was under the impression he was going into the meeting to discuss his employment terms.
The Namibian has independently confirmed that Muadinohamba made a disclaimer that he did not research TransNamib in preparation for the ‘interview’. He only learnt about competing with Naanda long after the ‘interview’.
The panel interviewing the two concluded that despite positive attributes of being a ‘strategist, strong people’s person, excellent networker, transformative and a broad, proactive thinker’ Muadinohamba did not bother to study TransNamib. He also lost because he was ‘too general,’ did not address ‘real issues and ‘lacks technical understanding and financial acumen’.
Naanda received ‘overall positive comments’ from the panel. She was ‘astute and a numbers’ person’ and understood TransNamib’s main challenges. She was ‘well-prepared, especially for the presentation’. Though recommending her as most suitable, the panelists felt ‘minor concerns were her [lack of] strategic and leadership abilities and technical understanding of TransNamib’.
The company’s board decided not to conduct psychometric profiling, which is standard in hiring its senior managers, sources told The Namibian.
The panel consisted of TransNamib chairman Festus Lameck and board members Chris Nghaamwa as well as Jerome Mouton. Director of Railways at the Ministry of Works Robert Kalomo and Bank of Namibia Deputy Governor Epson Uanguta were the external experts while Swart-Opperman, was the consultant representing PWC.
It also appears that Muadinohamba’s pay package of N$1,3 million annually, plus a 35 percent bonus and a N$4 000 monthly fuel allowance, and the fact that he may not have been available to start in with a month’s notice counted against him. Naanda’s overall annual pay at the time of just under N$1,3 million and availability was considered an advantage. Naanda started at TransNamib in January with an annual package of N$1,5 million, plus a 30 percent performance bonus.
The Namibian has learnt that the ‘head-hunting’ process involving the two candidates cost TransNamib more than N$229 000, with the PWC allegedly charging amounts like N$6 400 for ‘regret letters’ and N$10 000 for conducting telephonic references and N$16 000 for shortlisting.
It was not clear how much the initial CEO recruitment process that HR@Work conducted cost.
Swart-Opperman confirmed that TransNamib ‘paid for professional services rendered’ but declined to give further details.
TransNamib has been dogged by mismanagement and poor service to its customers for many years.
Fantastic post.Really thank you! Fantastic.
I loved your article post.Much thanks again. Awesome.
Thanks so much for the blog. Great.
I really like and appreciate your article post.Thanks Again. Really Great.
Say, you got a nice blog. Fantastic.
I really liked your blog post.Much thanks again. Will read on…
Major thankies for the blog post. Will read on…
A big thank you for your article post.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
I cannot thank you enough for the post.Really thank you! Awesome.
Appreciate you sharing, great post.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
I value the article post.Much thanks again. Really Great.
Thanks again for the blog.Really thank you! Will read on…
I cannot thank you enough for the article.Much thanks again. Great.
Wow, great blog post.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
Really informative post.Thanks Again. Want more.
I appreciate you sharing this blog article. Want more.
Thank you for your article.Really thank you! Really Cool.
Thanks for the article.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
I really enjoy the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
Say, you got a nice article post. Awesome.
I appreciate you sharing this blog.Really thank you! Awesome.
Looking forward to reading more. Great blog post.
I truly appreciate this post. Want more.
I really enjoy the article post.Thanks Again. Awesome.
A big thank you for your blog.Really thank you!
I really liked your article post.Thanks Again. Really Cool.
Really enjoyed this article post. Fantastic.
Thanks so much for the blog. Really Cool.
Fantastic article post.Really thank you! Want more.
Major thanks for the blog post.Thanks Again. Cool.
I really like and appreciate your article. Really Great.
Im thankful for the blog.Really thank you! Really Great.
Muchos Gracias for your article post.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
I think this is a real great post.Much thanks again.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
Awesome post.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
Major thankies for the article post.Much thanks again. Want more.
I really enjoy the blog post.Much thanks again. Awesome.
Very neat blog. Cool.
Very neat article post. Will read on…
Thanks so much for the post.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
I cannot thank you enough for the blog article. Really Great.
I really enjoy the article post.Really thank you!
Im thankful for the post. Will read on…
Hey, thanks for the blog post. Awesome.
Im thankful for the blog article.Really thank you!
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic article post.Much thanks again. Really Cool.
Appreciate you sharing, great blog article.Much thanks again. Keep writing.
Im grateful for the article post.Thanks Again. Cool.
I really liked your post.Really thank you! Really Great.
I cannot thank you enough for the blog. Cool.
Really informative post.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Very good blog.Much thanks again. Great.
Thank you for your post.Thanks Again. Want more.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog.Really looking forward to read more. Great.
I think this is a real great article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
Thank you for your blog.Really thank you! Cool.
Really informative article post.Much thanks again. Really Great.
I think this is a real great post.Much thanks again. Really Great.
Thanks again for the blog post.Really thank you! Cool.
Thanks for the post.Thanks Again.
Wow, great post. Will read on…
I loved your article post.Really thank you! Awesome.
I really liked your article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
This is one awesome article post.Much thanks again. Will read on…
I value the post.Much thanks again. Fantastic.
Thanks so much for the article post.Really thank you! Much obliged.
I really enjoy the blog.Really thank you! Cool.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog post.Really looking forward to read more.
Appreciate you sharing, great blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great.
A round of applause for your blog post.Much thanks again. Fantastic.
Looking forward to reading more. Great blog.Much thanks again. Really Great.
Say, you got a nice post.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Thanks so much for the blog post.Thanks Again. Want more.
I really liked your post.Thanks Again. Great.
Thanks-a-mundo for the blog.Really thank you! Want more.
Very informative article post.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
I really liked your article post.Really thank you! Want more.
Looking forward to reading more. Great article.Much thanks again. Great.
Thank you for your article.Really thank you! Fantastic.
Fantastic blog post.Really thank you! Cool.
Very good article.
I think this is a real great blog post.Much thanks again. Great.
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic post.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
Really enjoyed this post. Fantastic.
Very informative blog post. Cool.
Appreciate you sharing, great blog.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
I think this is a real great article post.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Im grateful for the post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
Thanks so much for the post.Really thank you! Cool.
Major thanks for the blog.Much thanks again. Really Great.
I really like and appreciate your blog article.Really looking forward to read more. Much obliged.
Thanks so much for the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Will read on…
Hey, thanks for the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing.
Great blog article.Really thank you! Awesome.
Im grateful for the blog post.Much thanks again. Want more.
Major thankies for the article.Thanks Again. Will read on…
Enjoyed every bit of your blog article. Really Cool.
Really enjoyed this article post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
I truly appreciate this article.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
Thanks so much for the post.Really thank you!
Major thankies for the post. Really Cool.
Im grateful for the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Fantastic.
Major thanks for the article post.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
Thank you ever so for you post.
This is one awesome article post.Really thank you! Awesome.