National railway operator TransNamib has announced the surprise resignation of its CEO, Johny Smith.
Smith, who had been leading the turnaround plans and capital raising initiative of the rail company, is expected to step down at the end of next month, despite having been offered a new contract by the rail operator’s board.
“TransNamib Board of Directors are announcing that, effective 31 March 2023, Johny Smith, CEO of TransNamib, is leaving the organisation. His current contract ended on 31 January 2023 and he was offered another five year extension by the Board of TransNamib. Smith, however, decided to pursue other opportunities,” said TransNamib’s Board Chairperson Theo Mberirua, on Thursday.
Appointed as CEO in 2018, the former Walvis Bay Corridor Group CEO had been at the helm of the government-owned rail company over the past five years.
“Given TransNamib’s historical governance issues and its financial constraints, Mr. Smith had a mammoth task in sourcing the funding for the business plan. These are only a few of Smith’s key achievements during his tenure. Therefore, he leaves TransNamib in a much more favourable condition, very strongly positioned for future growth, and we sincerely thank him for his vision, leadership, and contributions,” Mberirua added, without shying away from the company’s challenges.
His resignation also comes after former director and board chairperson Lionel Mathews and Sigirid Tjijorokosa also resigned in August last year as the rail company continued to be dogged by administrative and financial issues. Smith was heading one of the troubled parastatals, which at one point was operating on a monthly loss of N$10 million. Despite the headwinds, Mberirua said Smith managed to achieve key milestones, such as recording revenue growth in the 2019/2020 financial year.
“To remedy its precarious financial position, TransNamib started auctioning off property to raise N$2.6 billion needed for the implementation of its turnaround plan,” Mberirua said.
“This was TransNamib’s historic revenue growth with a 10.5% increase in freight revenue in more than a decade, giving a promising start to TransNamib’s Integrated Business Plan (ISBP) to transform the company into a sustainable organisation adding value to the Namibian economy,” he added.
Mberirua commended Smith for managing to convene the company’s Annual General Meeting for seven years in 2020, clearing historical financials, while in 2022, he managed to source funds of up to N$2.6 billion from the Development Bank of South Africa and the Development Bank of Namibia.
“On his part, Smith said; ‘while it has not been an easy decision, I am confident that TransNamib is better poised to become a sustainable organisation. The staff is led by both a committed Board of Directors and a very solid senior management team, whom I would like to extend thanks to for their support over my tenure.'”
