State broadcaster’s bonus spending to be investigated

The Information Ministry says it is considering launching an investigation into how the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) splashed N$5.4m ($293 222) on executive bonuses, as well on a N$1.9m ($103 170) vehicle for its director general. This comes after the parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources and Community Development, in its latest report, says the NBC has gobbled up billions in taxpayers’ funds over the past decades. According to The Namibian, the report was tabled in Parliament on 15 February. ‘The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology should conduct an investigation and institute a forensic audit into the operations and financial affairs of the NBC to determine misappropriations, wastage, and irregular expenditure . . . the performance bonuses of N$5.4m for NBC executives,’ the report reads. It also touches on the parastatal’s splurge of N$1.9m on a motor vehicle for its director-general Stanley Similo. The report says the committee was informed that the main contributing factor that led to 600 employees striking in 2021 was the N$5.4m that was paid to the executive management and a selected few senior managers under the guise of ‘performance bonuses’. ‘

Full report in The Namibian