TIRI MASAWI
The Social Security Commission (SSC) board chairperson Markus Kampungu has resigned at a time when the institution is under a government-ordered investigation into salary anomalies, and a suspended recruitment process for its next executive officer.
Kampungu is understood to have stepped down during a board meeting last week. He reportedly handed over his iPad and security access card before leaving office, bringing an abrupt end to his tenure that started in 2024.
His resignation comes as the Social Security Commission faces mounting scrutiny following a directive by Justice and Labour Relations Minister Filemon Wise Immanuel to investigate alleged irregularities in the commission’s salary structure.
The minister has also halted the recruitment process for a new executive officer, one of the most senior and highest-paid positions in the state-owned enterprise sector, with an annual package exceeding N$2 million.
Together, the salary review and stalled hiring process have placed SSC in a period of leadership uncertainty at a time when it is expected to take on expanded responsibilities, including oversight of the Public Service Medical Aid Scheme (PSEMAS) worth N$3.9 billion a year.
In March, Namibia Business Review reported that President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah directed the Social Security Commission to implement the National Pension Fund, and the National Medical Benefit Fund (NMBF) by 1 April.
All processes will now be led by a new board chairperson and a new executive officer.
The recruitment process was launched on 6 March as SSC began searching for a replacement for long-serving executive officer Milka Mungunda, who has led the institution for 10 years. The process attracted interest from several senior executives across the public and private sector.
Among those linked to the position are Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) operations general manager Elvis Nashilongo, former Namibia Institute of Pathology CEO Kapena Tjombonde, former Old Mutual executive Ndangi Katoma, and businessman Ndeulipula Hamutumwa.
However, the process was suspended after the minister intervened, pending further review. The board has since been left waiting for direction on whether the recruitment will resume, or whether the job specifications will be revised.
Both Immanuel and Kampungu did not respond to questions sent to them yesterday.
Kampungu had previously confirmed the suspension of the executive recruitment position, saying the board had not been given reasons for the decision.
“We have actually stopped that process and we are waiting for the minister to decide,” he said, adding that the board remained in the dark on the next steps.
Sources familiar with the matter say the minister is considering broadening the scope of qualifications and competencies required for the executive officer role as part of a wider governance review of SSC.
At the centre of the unfolding developments is also a separate but related investigation into SSC’s salary structure, with the government seeking to understand reported anomalies and inconsistencies in pay scales across the institution.
The review has raised internal tensions, particularly as it comes alongside the leadership vacuum created by the suspended recruitment process.
Executive Director in the Ministry of Justice and Labour Relations Ben Nangome said the matter had not yet formally reached his office.
“The board reports directly to the minister and it is the prerogative of the minister to deal with such matters. I am coming from a holiday and if there are any developments they are yet to get to me,” he said.
Nangombe dismissed suggestions that the minister’s actions amounted to interference in the recruitment process.
“I doubt that the minister, who is a lawyer, will exert his influence in the recruitment of the Executive Officer at the Social Security Commission. In any case, the minister pronounced himself on this issue. He acted according to the cabinet directive. Until he has an update on the issue I am not able to give you much on this one,” he said.
He added that the minister’s intervention, including the salary review and suspension of recruitment, forms part of broader Cabinet-directed governance reforms at SSC.
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