How Nujoma's name unlocked Avid deal
How Nujoma's name unlocked Avid deal

How Nujoma's name unlocked Avid deal

Details have emerged in how directors of now-defunct Avid Investment used the name of former President Sam Nujoma to secure a N$30 million investment from the Social Security Commission (SSC) in January 2004. Accompanying Nujoma’s name on the list of people with supposed links to Avid were the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) and its former secretary Paulus Kapia, who, as a result of this scandal, was later stripped of his position as deputy minister of works. Avid’s credibility did not convince the SSC to invest its N$30 million with the largely unknown entity at the time, but its credibility rating shot up as soon as the names of Nujoma, Kapia and the SPYL were linked to the company (Avid). The SCC was allegedly convinced by the credibility of Avid when they learned about the shareholding of the then Head of State, Kapia and the SPYL. Testifying in the Windhoek High Court on Wednesday during the trial of seven people linked to the infamous Avid/SSC scandal, former SSC corporate manager of finance Gideon Fredrick Mulder said the use of Nujoma’s name by Avid directors was key in approving the deal. Not shortlisted In continuation of his testimony in the High Court, Mulder confirmed that Avid Investment’s bid had not been shortlisted after the SSC had called for tenders to invest its N$30 million. But after Ralph Blaauw and Avril Godfried Green, a senior colleague at SSC, allegedly informed Mulder about the supposed involvement of Nujoma, the SSC believed that Avid could be trusted with the N$30 million investment. Blaauw allegedly spoke on behalf of Nujoma, Kapia and other shareholders in Avid when he approached the SSC. “Avid submitted a tender [to the SSC] in June 2004 but it was not considered, based on the scorecards,” Mulder testified. “However, information was given by Ralph Blaauw and Green that Nujoma, Kapia and the Swapo Party Youth League were also involved in the ownership of Avid. This convinced me about the credibility of the company. “Blaauw motivated what Avid would do once the N$30 million was given to them and how they would plough back the returns into Namibia,” Mulder said. No integrity concern He said in 2004 he was evaluating Avid according to the scorecard as he did not know who was involved in the company. “I was not concerned about Avid’s integrity at that point in time,” he stressed. The great Kandara debate Mulder further testified that in efforts to locate the offices of Avid, he realised upon phoning the company that the late Lazarus Kandara was involved. This was on January 21, 2004, the very date that the SSC’s N$30 million investment with Avid was approved, the court heard. Mulder emphasised that the SSC did not want Kandara to be an employee, director or CEO of the company handling SSC investments. This, he said, is because Kandara had at some stage been investigated by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry for fraudulent conduct. Mulder denied that he knew all along that Kandara was the Chief Executive Officer of Avid. He said although the letter authorising the transfer of the money was faxed on January 21, 2004, around 12:00, the transfer was withheld on the instruction of Green. “That day from the afternoon till the evening we had discussions about the matter and later Green instructed me to tear up the original of the transfer letter, which I did,” Mulder said. He further said Kapia came to his office and gave the lists of the Avid shareholders and the contact person to whom the SSC could speak. With Kandara’s name appearing among the shareholders, Mulder said he became suspicious of the company because of previous fraud investigations against him. Firm assurance As part of background check, the SSC wanted lists of the shareholders and the internal auditors of Avid and assurance about the safety of their investment. Kapia allegedly gave them this assurance on January 24, 2004 in the presence of then CEO of SSC, Tuli Hiveluah, and Green that Kandara was not involved. Mulder said he was also required by SSC seniors to meet the traders to ensure the safety of their investment and to this end he went to Johannesburg where he met a certain Van der Westhuizen who assured him of the safety of the investment and the returns they would get. He further testified that he had satisfied himself that the financial instruments handling their investments were safe, would earn interest, and met Namibia’s treasury regulations. Mulder said after returning to Namibia he formulated a report which was handed over to Hiveluah and afterwards the transfer of the SSC’s N$30 million to Avid was formally approved. “The transfer was signed with the instruction to the bank to transfer the funds to Avid,” he concluded. When the Avid scandal surfaced in 2005, Nujoma called a press conference at which he denied any links to the company. The former president challenged his accusers to provide proof of his involvement in the company. WINDHOEK FRED GOEIEMAN

Comments

Namibian Sun 2024-03-29

No comments have been left on this article

Please login to leave a comment

Katima Mulilo: 19° | 36° Rundu: 19° | 29° Eenhana: 19° | 29° Oshakati: 21° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 33° Tsumeb: 19° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 29° Omaruru: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Gobabis: 17° | 30° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:22, High tide: 05:24, Low Tide: 23:26, High tide: 17:46 Swakopmund: 16° | 17° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:22, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:44 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:21, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:43 Rehoboth: 19° | 30° Mariental: 23° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 24° | 35° Aranos: 22° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 35° Oranjemund: 14° | 25° Luanda: 27° | 28° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 26° Mbabane: 16° | 21° Maseru: 11° | 29° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Cape Town: 17° | 28° Durban: 20° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 20° | 30° Harare: 16° | 29° Currency: GBP to NAD 23.76 | EUR to NAD 20.35 | CNY to NAD 2.61 | USD to NAD 18.88 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.77 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.14 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.35 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 18.88 | USD to ZMW 25.01 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74536 Up +0.85% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1528.69 Up +0.84% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12986.94 Up +0.04% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27559.35 Down -2.36% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53% Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 19° | 36° Rundu: 19° | 29° Eenhana: 19° | 29° Oshakati: 21° | 30° Ruacana: 20° | 33° Tsumeb: 19° | 29° Otjiwarongo: 16° | 29° Omaruru: 19° | 32° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Gobabis: 17° | 30° Henties Bay: 16° | 20° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:22, High tide: 05:24, Low Tide: 23:26, High tide: 17:46 Swakopmund: 16° | 17° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:22, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:44 Walvis Bay: 16° | 22° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:20, High tide: 05:21, Low Tide: 23:24, High tide: 17:43 Rehoboth: 19° | 30° Mariental: 23° | 34° Keetmanshoop: 24° | 35° Aranos: 22° | 33° Lüderitz: 15° | 28° Ariamsvlei: 24° | 35° Oranjemund: 14° | 25° Luanda: 27° | 28° Gaborone: 20° | 32° Lubumbashi: 17° | 26° Mbabane: 16° | 21° Maseru: 11° | 29° Antananarivo: 16° | 27° Lilongwe: 17° | 27° Maputo: 20° | 28° Windhoek: 17° | 29° Cape Town: 17° | 28° Durban: 20° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 24° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 20° | 30° Harare: 16° | 29° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.76 | EUR to NAD 20.35 | CNY to NAD 2.61 | USD to NAD 18.88 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.33 | EGP to NAD 0.39 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.74 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.77 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.23 | USD to DZD 134.14 | USD to AOA 832.63 | USD to BWP 13.71 | USD to EGP 47.35 | USD to KES 130.98 | USD to NGN 1415.13 | USD to ZAR 18.88 | USD to ZMW 25.01 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 74536 Up +0.85% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1528.69 Up +0.84% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 12986.94 Up +0.04% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 27559.35 Down -2.36% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 233.12/OZ UP +1.93% | Copper US$ 3.99/lb UP +0.12% | Zinc US$ 2 455.50/T UP 0% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 87.65/BBP UP +1.46% | Platinum US$ 908.62/OZ UP +1.53%