Bishop Kameeta to head SSC board

The new board members of the Social Security Commission (SSC) were announced yesterday by the Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, Doreen Sioka, following the dismissal of the previous board last year. While introducing the new board at an event held at the Daan Viljoen resort outside Windhoek, Sioka said: “I took action to remove eight members of the previous Social Security Commission, including its chairperson. The other two members had already resigned voluntarily at my request.” Sioka dismissed the board for several reasons. One was the indefinite suspension of the SSC chief executive officer on unspecified grounds of “serious misconduct” late last year. Sioka said yesterday that despite the obvious gap left by the board members they managed to ensure the smooth operation of the Social Security Commission. “I exercised my powers in the absence of commissioners only when necessary, but left other issues for consideration by the new commissioners.” The new board consists of ten members, with bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN) Zephania Kameeta, as chairperson. Representing the government are Lourencia Tjiho; Namibia’s first nuclear medicine specialist at the Dr AB May Cancer Centre at Windhoek Central Hospital, Herman Shitaleni, and the Ministry of Lands and Resettlement’s deputy director of administration, Rebecca Iyambo. Representing employers are Deidre Sauls - president of the Law Society, Hilya Nandago - senior legal advisor/principal officer for CIH Ltd Group Retirement Fund, and Michael Hill. Representing the trade unions are Justina Jonas – general secretary of the Metal and Allied Namibian Workers’ Union (Manwu), Toini Nauyoma and Evans Maswahu. Tjivikua yesterday said that the past year was wrought with challenges and setbacks at the corporate governance level, “but we see such challenges as learning curves and opportunities to develop the SSC into a model institution for corporate governance.” Sioka added that the board has a collective responsibility to provide effective corporate governance that involves a set of relationships between the management, the board and the SSC’s stakeholders.