THE municipality of Otjiwarongo seems to have flouted staff recruitment rules when it advertised the position of chief executive officer (CEO) although the incumbent had not formally resigned yet.

The acting CEO of the municipality, Agatha Mweti, confirmed last week that although Manfred Uxamb, the CEO, was negotiating an exit package with the local authority, no official agreement had been reached.

The Namibian has it on good authority that Uxamb had been absent from work for protracted periods of time since last year due to ill health.

Uxamb and the town council of Otjiwarongo allegedly reached a verbal agreement on a severance package.

However, unconfirmed reports reaching The Namibian have it that Uxamb turned up for work last week, thus creating confusion among employees.

Mweti could not confirm the reports as she was out of town at the time.

"That is news to me but he is still an employee of the municipality and there is nothing wrong if he turns up at work," she said.

She added that issues such as whether he is on sick or compassionate leave are internal matters of the municipality.

Asked why the town council chose to advertise the post while Uxamb had not yet officially resigned and what would happen if he decided to stay, Mweti refused to answer. Uxamb could not be reached for comment.

Otjiwarongo experienced a similar scenario in 2005 when Uxamb was receiving an acting allowance when then CEO, Paulus Haipare, was on suspension with full pay. The then minister of local government, the late John Pandeni, had to order Uxamb to pay back the monthly allowance he had been receiving.