‘Insensitive’ NBC bosses grilled over bonus bonanza
The Namibia Broadcasting Corporation's (NBC) leadership was rapped over the knuckles by lawmakers over bonus payments as well as low staff morale when they appeared before a parliamentary committee.
Members of the Standing Committee on Human Resources and Community Development felt it was insensitive for the board and management to receive bonuses while general employees haven’t seen one since 2017.
NBC’s leaders were at pains to explain the rationale behind paying themselves bonuses while lower level staffers were left out in the cold, and this prompted committee members to question targets set for the company’s heads.
They also failed to provide a clear road map on how they plan to address the alleged low staff morale within the NBC workforce. This is despite the broadcaster’s leaders claiming that morale was at an “all-time high”.
In the dark
Parliamentarians questioned the timing of the payment of performance bonuses in December 2020 and a decision not to grant employees a pay hike last year.
Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) member of parliament Maximalliant Katjimune took aim at NBC deputy board chairperson Tim Ekandjo, questioning claims that all is well at the national broadcaster.
“Mr Ekandjo said something extraordinary; he said that the relationship between management and the employees is at top-notch level, [while] the relationship and the morale between management and employees is at an all-time low”.
Fellow PDM member Charmaine Tjirare said NBC’s board and management were in the dark about the actual staff morale.
“We just came back from site visits from all those NBC offices. You have not been on the ground, evidently, because if that is the language you speak, you don’t know what is happening in your own home,” she said.
Bonus red flags
Tjirare also questioned NBC director-general Stanley Similo’s stance that he was sympathetic that employees did not receive bonuses since 2017.
“Conveniently [that] sympathy went out the window when management had to get bonuses. Don’t you feel this was insensitive?” she questioned.
Meanwhile, Swapo parliamentarian and committee member Tjekero Tweya said management contracts should be shared to establish under what circumstances bonuses were awarded.
Ekandjo retorted that the decision to pay 21 managers over N$5 million in bonuses was justified because they had not received bonuses over a five-year period.
“In the greater scheme of generating N$100 million on an annual basis, for executives who have not received any bonuses for five years, I think it is a non-issue for us as a board because you have continually generated N$100 million over five years and you still did not get performance bonuses,” he said.
Members of the Standing Committee on Human Resources and Community Development felt it was insensitive for the board and management to receive bonuses while general employees haven’t seen one since 2017.
NBC’s leaders were at pains to explain the rationale behind paying themselves bonuses while lower level staffers were left out in the cold, and this prompted committee members to question targets set for the company’s heads.
They also failed to provide a clear road map on how they plan to address the alleged low staff morale within the NBC workforce. This is despite the broadcaster’s leaders claiming that morale was at an “all-time high”.
In the dark
Parliamentarians questioned the timing of the payment of performance bonuses in December 2020 and a decision not to grant employees a pay hike last year.
Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) member of parliament Maximalliant Katjimune took aim at NBC deputy board chairperson Tim Ekandjo, questioning claims that all is well at the national broadcaster.
“Mr Ekandjo said something extraordinary; he said that the relationship between management and the employees is at top-notch level, [while] the relationship and the morale between management and employees is at an all-time low”.
Fellow PDM member Charmaine Tjirare said NBC’s board and management were in the dark about the actual staff morale.
“We just came back from site visits from all those NBC offices. You have not been on the ground, evidently, because if that is the language you speak, you don’t know what is happening in your own home,” she said.
Bonus red flags
Tjirare also questioned NBC director-general Stanley Similo’s stance that he was sympathetic that employees did not receive bonuses since 2017.
“Conveniently [that] sympathy went out the window when management had to get bonuses. Don’t you feel this was insensitive?” she questioned.
Meanwhile, Swapo parliamentarian and committee member Tjekero Tweya said management contracts should be shared to establish under what circumstances bonuses were awarded.
Ekandjo retorted that the decision to pay 21 managers over N$5 million in bonuses was justified because they had not received bonuses over a five-year period.
“In the greater scheme of generating N$100 million on an annual basis, for executives who have not received any bonuses for five years, I think it is a non-issue for us as a board because you have continually generated N$100 million over five years and you still did not get performance bonuses,” he said.
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