Nored handpicks company linked to its executive for N$61m tender

Just five days before stepping down as acting CEO of northern power distributor Nored, executive Toivo Shovaleka handpicked a company owned by the husband of Nored’s legal head for a contract - suspiciously signed on a Saturday – that would net the entity N$8.2 million within three months.Shovaleka is also under scrutiny for allegedly claiming excessive subsistence and travel (S&T) allowances. In six months, he allegedly claimed N$386 242.23 - an average of more than N$64 000 per month.Separate records suggest he also claimed N$323 337.20 between April and December 2024, averaging nearly N$36 000 monthly.Shovaleka denied these claims, saying they stem from a fellow Nored executive, who recently threatened to leak the S&T figures to third parties. He did not reveal the identity of the said executive.The controversial contract, signed on Saturday, 19 July 2025, was awarded to Power Consult and Mechanical Engineers, owned by Simeon Antindi, the husband of Nored executive manager for legal affairs and compliance, Etegameno Indongo-Antindi.The revenue recovery contract mandates Power Consult to collect over N$61 million from customers who were under-billed for electricity consumption. In return, the company will receive 13.5% of the amount recovered - potentially earning N$8.2 million if the full amount is collected.Shovaleka said the company had submitted a proposal to Nored and that no public tender was advertised. He defended the decision, saying Nored is registered as a private company and handles procurement internally. The company is not required to submit tenders to the Central Procurement Board of Namibia (CPBN), he clarified.“We don’t have a limit at Nored. We are registered as a Pty Ltd. We might move towards being under the public procurement board but for now we stick to our internal procurement process,” he said.However, Nored’s own procurement policy, seen by Namibian Sun, stipulates that tenders above N$250 000 must be subject to competitive bidding, and contracts exceeding N$1 million must be adjudicated by the board of directors.Shovaleka claimed the board approved the deal with Power Consult, although the contract itself bears only his signature for Nored, while Jochen Roeber signed on behalf of Power Consult.“Power Consult was already recovering revenue on Nored’s behalf – but there was no existing agreement between the partie. The board had instructed that no payment be made to Power Consult until a formal agreement was in place. This directive birthed the contract between the parties, with Nored represented by Shikongo Law Chambers.”The deal has raised eyebrows not only due to the potential conflict of interest - Indongo-Antindi advises Nored on procurement compliance and other issues - but also because it was signed on a Saturday, when Nored offices are typically closed.It is alleged that the contract was deliberately signed over the weekend to avoid triggering internal scrutiny or conflict-of-interest protocols.Shovaleka denied this, saying: “The contract was signed on a Saturday because it was done electronically and the other party had to travel.”‘We work with facts’Indongo-Antindi denied any involvement in the awarding of the contract.“It’s not news, there is not much I can make of it. You probably have to ask them as to why they are making such allegations. What is important are the facts, and us lawyers - we work with the facts, not allegations nor speculations,” she said.Her husband, on behalf of Power Consult, told Namibian Sun he had been consulting for Nored for nearly two decades - long before his wife joined the company.He said similar corruption allegations surfaced in May 2024, prompting him to encourage those making the claims to report them to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). He also said he welcomed any investigations.“I saw that circulation last year. I was never awarded that N$50 million tender. There was a time when I even said that if they have information, they can go to ACC and follow it up. At the time, they were even saying that my wife should be suspended,” he said.“I don’t know - maybe it’s just some internal fighting. Our company has been doing business since the formation of Nored from Northern Electricity. I have been doing business even before I met my wife.”He added that when his wife joined Nored in 2013, and briefly acted as CEO, she declared her conflict of interest and recused herself from all matters involving his company.He dismissed the latest allegations as internal politics intended to tarnish his family's and company’s reputation.‘Ask the whistleblower’When contacted for comment, Nored board chairperson Johannes Uushini declined to respond to questions.“I have no comment to such allegations. Just get your details regarding all your questions from the whistleblower him or herself,” he said, before hanging up.This, despite Uushini and several other stakeholders being copied in email correspondence from a whistleblower outlining the allegations.Pakote seeks answers on NakasholeMeanwhile, Nored’s substantive CEO, Fillemon Nakashole, remains on indefinite suspension - now ongoing for over 15 months. Sources allege that the board is deliberately delaying his disciplinary hearing to enable acting executives to execute questionable deals without oversight.Namibian Sun can confirm that last Friday, new executive director in the ministry of industrialisation and trade, Moses Pakote, wrote to Uushini demanding a formal explanation as to why Nakashole’s disciplinary matter remains unresolved.“Given the seriousness of the allegations and the public interest in accountability and transparency within public institutions, your timely and detailed response is both necessary and expected,” Pakote wrote, giving Uushini until 13h00 today to respond.A whistleblower report and a motion of no confidence by employees claim that systemic corruption is being perpetrated by senior executives at Nored, with the board allegedly failing in its oversight duties.

Nored handpicks company linked to its executive for N$61m tender

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-04

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Nored handpicks company linked to its executive for N$61m tender

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-04

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