NEWS - NAMIBIA
| 2013-07-22Hardap official resigns amid graft probe
Luqman Cloete
THE Hardap Regional Council’s deputy finance director, John Jerry Van Wyk, resigned with immediate effect last week amid a criminal investigation into an alleged misappropriation council money.
Council money amounting close to N$150 000 was detected as missing after a routine bank reconciliation, The Namibian has been informed.
A source within the council said the bank reconciliation uncovered discrepancies in a form of a unexplained cheque payment of N$72 400 and a N$75 590 bank electronic transfer to Monate Events Management, a company believed to owned by Van Wyks’ wife.
The cheque payment was signed by Van Wyk and council’s planning director Theresia Basson on 3 January 2012, while the electronic bank transfer was authorised by Van Wyk and council’s chief executive officer Yvonne Boois in March this year.
During an interrogation by the council’s management committee at a council’s extra-ordinary meeting called last week following the detection of the irregular payments, Van Wyk allegedly preferred to remain silent when asked to shed light on the payments made to Monate Events Management.
The said meeting resolved to remove Basson and Van Wyk as signatories on the council’s bank accounts, and moved Van Wyk from his office to the Mariental Urban constituency office.
It also ordered Basson to vacate her office and to occupy one of the planning directorates sub division offices.
An aggrieved staffer, who preferred anonymity out of fear of retribution, accused the council’s management committee of treating Boois with “kid gloves” in the matter.
“As accounting officer Boois should also be held accountable for the missing funds,” said the staffer, adding that it seems that only Van Wyk and Basson are being implicated in the misappropriation of funds although Boois had co-signed the unexplained electronic bank transfer.
According to the staffer, the council management committee has taken a premature decision that the electronic bank transfer authorisation looks “dubious” despite Boois having confirmed her on it.
“The council is biased.
Instead of taking a premature decision, they should call in forensic experts to determine the authenticity of the bank electronic transfer authorisation,” the staffer charged.
The staffer attributed the embezzlement of the council money to a lack of bank reconciliation over the past three years.
“The compilation of bank reconciliation reports only started after the appointment of the chief accountant in November last year,” the staffer disclosed.
The council’s chairperson, Jeremia Van Neel, yesterday confirmed the alleged misappropriation of funds and Van Wyk’s resignation, adding council has opened a fraud case with the Mariental Police.
Acknowledging that Boois had confirmed her signature of the unexplained electronic bank transfer authorisation, Van Neel added that council regarded the transfer as “dubious” since it is not the council’s policy to make electronic transfers to individuals’ bank accounts.
“Electronic bank transfers are only done when council does interbank fund transfers,” Van Neel added. Responding to allegations that council was treating Boois with kid gloves in the matter, Van Neel remarked: “We primarily focus on the cheque payments, but we have equally ordered the police to also investigate the electronic bank transfer authorisation”.
luqman@namibian.com.na
Council money amounting close to N$150 000 was detected as missing after a routine bank reconciliation, The Namibian has been informed.
A source within the council said the bank reconciliation uncovered discrepancies in a form of a unexplained cheque payment of N$72 400 and a N$75 590 bank electronic transfer to Monate Events Management, a company believed to owned by Van Wyks’ wife.
The cheque payment was signed by Van Wyk and council’s planning director Theresia Basson on 3 January 2012, while the electronic bank transfer was authorised by Van Wyk and council’s chief executive officer Yvonne Boois in March this year.
During an interrogation by the council’s management committee at a council’s extra-ordinary meeting called last week following the detection of the irregular payments, Van Wyk allegedly preferred to remain silent when asked to shed light on the payments made to Monate Events Management.
The said meeting resolved to remove Basson and Van Wyk as signatories on the council’s bank accounts, and moved Van Wyk from his office to the Mariental Urban constituency office.
It also ordered Basson to vacate her office and to occupy one of the planning directorates sub division offices.
An aggrieved staffer, who preferred anonymity out of fear of retribution, accused the council’s management committee of treating Boois with “kid gloves” in the matter.
“As accounting officer Boois should also be held accountable for the missing funds,” said the staffer, adding that it seems that only Van Wyk and Basson are being implicated in the misappropriation of funds although Boois had co-signed the unexplained electronic bank transfer.
According to the staffer, the council management committee has taken a premature decision that the electronic bank transfer authorisation looks “dubious” despite Boois having confirmed her on it.
“The council is biased.
Instead of taking a premature decision, they should call in forensic experts to determine the authenticity of the bank electronic transfer authorisation,” the staffer charged.
The staffer attributed the embezzlement of the council money to a lack of bank reconciliation over the past three years.
“The compilation of bank reconciliation reports only started after the appointment of the chief accountant in November last year,” the staffer disclosed.
The council’s chairperson, Jeremia Van Neel, yesterday confirmed the alleged misappropriation of funds and Van Wyk’s resignation, adding council has opened a fraud case with the Mariental Police.
Acknowledging that Boois had confirmed her signature of the unexplained electronic bank transfer authorisation, Van Neel added that council regarded the transfer as “dubious” since it is not the council’s policy to make electronic transfers to individuals’ bank accounts.
“Electronic bank transfers are only done when council does interbank fund transfers,” Van Neel added. Responding to allegations that council was treating Boois with kid gloves in the matter, Van Neel remarked: “We primarily focus on the cheque payments, but we have equally ordered the police to also investigate the electronic bank transfer authorisation”.
luqman@namibian.com.na
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