The ||Kharas Regional Council has started the process of seeking a new chief regional officer (CRO) as the contract of its substantive CRO, Beatus Kasete, ends in December this year.
Kasete, who has been at the helm of the council since January 2019, was suspended on 25 June 2021 for alleged insubordination and he is yet to be charged. Since then, the entity’s Director of Finance, Human Resources and Administration, Benedictus Diergaardt has been acting in the position.
In an interview with Nampa, chairperson of the ||Kharas Regional Council, Joseph Isaaks said Council and the Public Service Commission are engaged in the process of having the CRO position declared vacant and for the approval of the position, before it is advertised.
The councillor said Kasete’s suspension was extended to the end of December in order for it to end concurrently with his employment contract with the council.
‘The first process of informing the staff member (Kasete) that his contract will not be extended has been done and
the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development is in the process of calculating his dues,’ Isaaks said.
When asked why the council allowed Diergaardt to act in the position for more than a year, which the law does not allow, Isaaks said: ‘We are coming from an alternative party that gives alternatives. We decided to keep extending the acting position to him, we did not just let him act since day one, we kept extending the contract every three months. We are open to any criticism, anyone who thinks we did things wrong, we are open to that.’
Isaaks further said the position will go to whoever applies and meets the criteria.
‘If the acting CRO meets the requirements that is needed for that position, yes he can get the job, but not because he has been acting for so long.’
Approached for comment, Kasete indicated that he did not receive any communication to indicate that his suspension has been extended till December, nor has he been informed that his contract would not be renewed.
Source: The Namibian Press Age
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