Miners trust defends N$2m payment to chairperson
Source: The Namibian
Author: Tracy Tafirenyika
The Namibia Miners Investment Trust (Namit) has denied allegations made by Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) leaders, questioning the payment of N$2 million to the chairperson of a mineworkers' investment company owned by MUN.
This involved a database project for MUN, which Namit says was carried out by its board chairperson, John Ndeutepo and 12 administrative staff members.
Namit says the payments Ndeutepo received came from an approved budget, which was not for personal use.
"The allegations and insinuations that seek to suggest that the N$2 million that Namit spent on this project was for personal use or as proceeds of corruption or mismanagement should be condemned and disregarded with the contempt they deserve and are aimed at tarnishing the good management and reputation of Namit Trust . . . "What is seen in the newspapers recently are rumours being manufactured by disgruntled former leaders who were ousted because of their poor and selfish leadership style," Namit said in a statement last week.
This comes after The Namibian last month reported that some MUN leaders questioned payments made to Ndeutepo. Documents show that Ndeutepo was hired by MUN to provide the union with data-collection services.
Ndeutepo last month said he provided this service in his personal capacity, but denied any wrongdoing.
Records obtained by The Namibian show that Ndeutepo received seven payments between 30 June 2020 and December 2020, totaling N$2 million.
The first half of the seven-month instalment period saw disbursements on 30 June 2020 (N$390 000), 16 July 2020 (N$560 000) and 17 August 2020 (N$370 000).
The second half saw payments to Ndeutepo on 14 September 2020 (N$230 000), 6 October 2020 (N$230 000), 5 November 2020 (N$215 000)and 1 December 2020 (N$275 000).
These transactions have sparked concerns within the union, with some members declaring his services a conflict of interest.
Ndeutepo has previously served as a trustee of the union company.
Namit, however, says the company is governed by a board of trustees that consists of MUN national office-bearers, a regional chairpersons, secretaries of each region and the chief executive of Nammic, who then appointed Ndeutepo to run the project.
"The payments reflected cover the total budgeted monthly costs of the project, which include salaries, rent, admin, media, software, hardware, logistics and travel costs to all 14 regions in Namibia.
"Namit is pleased and confident that the trust undertook this very important exercise in the most cost-efficient manner possible, given the environment at the time.
"The option of appointing Ndeutepo at a minimal cost and setting up a project team to execute the project saved the institution a significant amount of money as opposed to going on tender to invite profit-driven organisations to bid for these services," the statement says.
PROJECT BENEFICIARIES
Namit, in its statement says the intention of the project was to register beneficiaries.
"The trust sanctioned a beneficiary registration project to register beneficiaries and sensitise or introduce itself to those beneficiaries who may be unaware of its existence. This was not a walk in the park, as the trust had to be satisfied that this exercise and information had reached every community in Namibia.
"The intention was to create a database of beneficiaries to enable the trustees to plan and identify the interventions required to fulfil its objectives of uplifting the mineworker and his or her descendants," the statement says.
44 000 REGISTER
Namit says it managed to register over 44 000 beneficiaries, current and ex-MUN members and their descendants. "The registration has now paved the way for the shareholding allocation project, which is still ongoing and the establishment of Namitvest and Just Transition Trust Public Company and further established the SME and Education Fund, which was launched on 9 December 2022 in Windhoek.
"This year completed its second round of education grants to beneficiaries who are undertaking tertiary education. It should not be construed that when there are disagreements or leadership skirmishes that there is anarchy. It must be understood that this is the organisation's way of self-correction to ensure sound corporate governance and jealously protect our success without fear or favour," the statement says. "
The vision is audacious and unprecedented as we now have a workers' company being listed on the Namibia Stock Exchange, which will see close to 50 000 shareholders, previously disadvantaged Namibians, participating in the mainstream wealth economy in the near future."
The Swapo-affiliated MUN was in the news last month when its current bosses announced the suspension of former president Ismael Kasuto and former vice president Desley Samsob, a move described by some as a union style coup d'état.