N$13m missing at Rehoboth

The Rehoboth Town Council has allegedly failed to account for a number of financial transactions, including the missing N$13 million raised through land sales in the leafy Westridge area of the town in 2015.
The council’s suspended chief executive officer, Christophe /Uirab, confirmed the missing money, which according to him was one of the issues he raised in a report to the minister of urban and rural development, Sophia Shaningwa.
This report is allegedly one of the main reasons why /Uirab was suspended last week.
“The N$13 million has been used but that report has not been availed to me. The issue here is that there is a possibility that the money was not used in the way it should have been used,” he said.
According to him, financial statements must be submitted before the end of the financial year, which in this case was 30 June 2016.

Cash-strapped

This revelation comes barely a month after the town’s water supply was disconnected after it failed to settle long-overdue debt of close to N$30 million.
After making a payment of N$6.3 million to NamWater to reconnect the water supply, the council still owes the water utility about N$36 million in historical debt, plus an outstanding current account of approximately N$2 million, which will be settled under a strict repayment plan.

Irregular financial history

The Auditor-General’s report for the 2013 financial year also highlights a past riddled with financial irregularities.
The audit revealed that the council’s provision for bad debts may be understated by about N$4.5million, a steep increase from a mere N$643 493 in 2012.
The report also showed that the council is investigating stale cheques amounting to just over N$4.1 million.
It further revealed that the council failed to produce documentation for service loans of N$13.8 million.
JEMIMA BEUKES