… As Shilamba finally lifts the lid on his suspension
By Confidente Reporter
THE suspension in July last year of Nampower Managing Director Paulinus Shilamba together with the parastatal’s Chief Technical Services officer O’Brien Hekandjo and senior Manager for Energy trading, Werner Graupe had nothing to do with tender irregularities but rather was politically motivated as a result of the Kudu and Xaris energy projects, Confidente has learnt.
Shilamba talks victimisation and blames his downfall squarely on the Minister of Mines and Energy, Obeth Kandjoze and some Nampower board members.
“In summary, our suspension was all about politics and victimisation. This was a penalty and a price we had to pay because of the 250 MW Xaris project that we had initiated and that was, thanks to our drive, at a point of reaching financial close before full implementation,” Shilamba wrote.
The revelations are contained in a document prepared by Shilamba that was to be presented at the Labour Commissioner’s Office on March 30 and 31 where the trio are contesting their suspension.
However, the labour case had to be postponed after Kandjoze and Nampower board members failed to attend court despite being subpoenaed.
They now face contempt of court charges. A police case of contempt of court under CR number 295/04/2016 has since been opened at Katutura police station against the five.
The document which is yet to be presented in court marks the first time Shilamba speaks out about his suspension. He starts by saying it was high time the truth about the trio’s suspension is revealed to the public.
“The truth is that the entire KPMG project covering phase one (development of the implementation strategy) and phase two (procurement of the IPP investor) and as approved by the Tender Board and the Board of Directors respectively, was estimated to cost N$30 million, with the amount of N$2.4 million to be allocated to the first phase and the balance (approximately N$27 million) to the second phase. If we indeed pocketed this difference as alleged through the media I wonder how we were allowed to move freely without police arrest or the investigation by the ACC.
Shilamba said Kandjoze has never been keen on the implementation of the Xaris project since he was the Managing Director of Namcor.
“Unfortunately the project did not enjoy support from Namcor under the leadership of its former Managing Director, Honourable Obeth Kandjoze, at the time. There are e-mail communication between Honourable Kandjoze as Namcor Managing Director at that time, Mr Kahuure (former PS of MME), our chairperson and Honourable Isak Katali, the former Minister of Mines and Energy, that could be made available to this court as testimony that this is indeed the case.
“After his nomination as one of the eight members of Parliament in February 2015, long before he became the new Minister of Mines and Energy on 21 March 2015, Honourable Kandjoze did not waste time to make an investigation and find ways to make sure that the 250MW project was put on hold as soon as possible,” Shilamba wrote.
Shilamba goes on to further reveal how a few weeks before the 2015 independence celebrations he had been informed by a staff member at Energy Trading in confidence how he/she had been summoned by Kandjoze in his office to provide him with more information on the Xaris project and to make it clear that he was against the project.
“During the independence celebration on March 21 2015 it was brought to my attention by one of my colleagues that there are talks circulating in town that Mr Kandjoze has indicated to some of his friends that one of his targets upon his appointment as Minister of Mines and Energy was to make sure that he got rid of Mr Shilamba. One of the Nampower board members (name withheld) also informed me in confidence around May 2015 that one of our board members (name also withheld) while attending a funeral outside Windhoek was heard informing his friends that one of his targets that year (2015) was to make sure that he got rid of Mr Shilamba and Ms Nashandi. By the way, they managed to get rid of Ms Nashandi by not renewing her contract when it expired in September 2015 and freezing the position.”
Shilamba also claims that soon after Kandjoze was appointed minister the working environment, especially the relationship between the board and management, started to deteriorate.
“The tension during board meetings was evident as many recommendations from management were being rejected or referred back without good reasons. I have personally been on the receiving end of hostile remarks from the board member whom I referred to above as having stated that his main target was to get rid of me. In the meantime the tension between the interest groups within the company, those who supported Kudu and those who were for the Xaris project, intensified.
“The Minister and some board members also started to align themselves with those interest groups in the company and undermining the Managing Director and his management team. The spilt and division within the board also became evident, with one group firmly supporting the Xaris project and the other group mainly composed of the members of the Audit and Risk Management Committee (ARMC) and who have been dominating the show because of their link with the Minister supporting the Minister to stop the project from going ahead.”
Shilamba said he was later advised by Nampower’s Chief Legal Advisor, Bjorn Joerges, to opt for an early exit from the parastatal as per the provision of his employment contract.
“Having listened to the advice of our Chief Legal Advisor, and having realised that it was never going to be easy to fight these battles alone, and without the support of the board and after consultation with my family, I realised that the only viable option out of this undesirable situation for me was to consider an exist from my employment contract and to resign. This was clearly a case of constructive dismissal to which I did not have any other option but to resign…I would like to reiterate that my suspension was based on nothing else but a calculated and deliberate political agenda to keep me aside because of my involvement in the Xaris project. It should also be clear that I was not involved in any tender irregularity as published in the media and that the charges against me that were malicious will automatically fall away as they could never be proven in the absence of a disciplinary hearing, resulting from the refusal by the company to provide me with the relevant documents to afford me a fair hearing as per the provisions of our constitution,” Shilamba wrote.
Shilamba says events that led to their suspension began with a forensic audit that was not allegedly initiated by the Nampower board but by the ARMC. The audit report was done by Saunderson & Co.
Shilamba alleges that the initial auditing company’s first report did not implicate anyone but identified shortcomings and recommended measures to rectify them however the ARMC tasked the company to carry out additional work and revise its report to specifically identify and implicate those who were responsible for the mistakes.
“It must be pointed out that no variation order was issued for the additional work by Mr Saunderson of approximately 60 percent (an increase from N$149 500 to N$241 500.) I reported this transgression to the board but instead, I was instructed to sign the ex-post facto ratification to allow Mr Saunderson to be paid for the additional work he had already completed. ..It is also interesting to note that the first report is dated May 26 2015 and the second report May 27 2015, a clear manipulation of the auditing process. Another outcome pointing to the clear manipulation of the report related to the accusation by Mr Saunderson that I authorised payment of the last invoice that exceeded my level of authority, without board authorisation. Here Mr Saunderson decided to ignore the fact that apart from the board resolution of the meeting of February 6 2014 the memorandum I wrote to the Chief Financial Officer to effect payment of the last invoice was also accompanied by a board resolution (BD 26/03/15/20) of the board meeting of March 26 2015 which read as follows: The board resolved to approve the over- expenditure of N$5.6 million and N$992 000 excluding VAT. This board resolution bears the signature of the board chairperson and the company secretary meaning this expenditure was indeed approved by the board contrary to claims by Mr Saunderson that it was not the case. I suggest that Nampower makes this resolution available to the court and explain as to why it was not considered as part of the Saunderson report.”
Efforts to get comment from Kandjoze proved futile at the time of going to print as he had not returned calls or messages left in his office and mobile at the time of going to print.