The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) has expressed concern over the governance, equity, and transparency of public institutions following the recent announcement of Dino Ballotti's return to the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB).
Ballotti, who was in the executive management at NIPDB responsible for MSME Development, Innovation, and Acceleration, left the organisation in August this year after he was appointed the Head of Business and Public Sector at FNB.
He was this month re-appointed on a fixed-term contract basis by NIPDB.
In a statement this week, PDM's President McHenry Venaani alleged that the appointment was done under a veil of secrecy.
He says according to reports this role of Ballotti, as a technical consultant for NIPDB, might not have existed before his reappointment and that there was no open hiring procedure for other suitably qualified candidates to apply.
Furthermore, he says that the appointment calls into question the position's validity and whether it was specifically designed for Balloti's economic security.
Following his resignation from NIPDB, he was appointed by FNB as Head of Business and Public Sector.
While at FNB, Ballotti was announced as one of Swapo Party Vice President's nominees on the party's list for the National Assembly.
Currently, it is not clear when Ballotti resigned from FNB apart from him joining it in August.
Venaani has called on Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah to intervene and restore public confidence in public institutions in the wake of this concerning appointment at NIPDB.
Meanwhile, NIPDB said following the departure of Ballotti as an Executive Director responsible for MSME Development, Innovation, and Acceleration in August this year, the search to replace him in this position has been ongoing.
The entity, in a statement, says it found it difficult to achieve the objectives set out in its current Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP), as he served as one of the founding executives of NIPDB in developing the ISBP.
NIPDB says that given his deep understanding of the board's goals and challenges, the board deems it fit to re-engage him to serve as an employee on a fixed-term contract basis.