ACC top brass in pay drama

THE Anti-Corruption Commission (AAC) yesterday found itself on the receiving end of accusing fingers when it emerged that double salaries and a 13th cheque were paid to its Director and Deputy Director.

The Namibian has reliably learnt that the country’s top graft busters, Director Paulus Noa and his deputy, Erna van der Merwe, received double salaries in January 2006, and were also wrongly paid 13th cheques. According to insiders, instead of informing the Prime Minister’s salary office of the mistake, they had allegedly kept mum, and only started repaying the money after they had been alerted to the fact.However, this was categorically denied by Van der Merwe, who said she personally had immediately informed the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Prime Minister.”It is devoid of all truth,” she said of the accusations.She was adamant that she had acted swiftly in asking the relevant officials to remove her from their payroll.The Namibian was informed that the two officials started with their repayments in August – six months down the line – by paying monthly instalments, reportedly interest-free.Noa and Van der Merwe were also allegedly erroneously paid a 13th cheque contrary to their conditions of employment.As political appointees the ACC’s two top officials are not entitled to a 13th cheque like other civil servants.The two officials took up their top ACC posts in January 2006.Up until the end of 2005, they had worked for the Ministry of Justice.With the new appointments, they now fall under the ambit of the Prime Minister’s office.They were allegedly alerted about the 13th-cheque mistake, upon which they arranged with the salary office to have the money deducted from their salaries over 24 months.Contacted for comment, Noa said he “remembered having been paid a double salary somewhere in February (2006)”.He said this happened when the two were being transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the autonomous Anti-Corruption Commission.Van der Merwe corroborated Noa’s account, but was adamant that she had personally informed the Ministry of Justice about the error.According to Noa, during the transitional period the Ministry of Finance was installing a new payroll system and the double payment was not only confined to the ACC.He said other Government agencies and ministries had also been affected.When asked why she had not paid back the money in one lump sum, Van der Merwe said “it was a lot of money involved”.She said that the treasury rules provided for the monthly-instalment scenario.Noa vehemently denied any knowledge of a 13th cheque payment.”We are political appointees and are not entitled to such payments.”I don’t know anything about it (thirteenth cheque),” he said.Van der Merwe said she had picked up on the 13th cheque.”I do not know about Mr Noa, but I did receive a thirteenth cheque,” Van der Merwe confirmed.She said she had not requested either the double salary or the 13th cheque.”It was the fault of the employer”, she said.She said she was very “upset about the erroneous” payments, and again emphasised that she had alerted the salary office about it “and not the other way around”.She could not remember when she had started making her repayments.News of the overpayments comes a day after two top Government officials – National Assembly Secretary Nama Gaobeb and the Chief Accountant of the Assembly, Abraham John George – appeared in court on corruption charges following an ACC probe.The ACC also announced on Monday that it is closing in on alleged corruption in the Karas Regional Council.According to insiders, instead of informing the Prime Minister’s salary office of the mistake, they had allegedly kept mum, and only started repaying the money after they had been alerted to the fact.However, this was categorically denied by Van der Merwe, who said she personally had immediately informed the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Prime Minister.”It is devoid of all truth,” she said of the accusations.She was adamant that she had acted swiftly in asking the relevant officials to remove her from their payroll.The Namibian was informed that the two officials started with their repayments in August – six months down the line – by paying monthly instalments, reportedly interest-free.Noa and Van der Merwe were also allegedly erroneously paid a 13th cheque contrary to their conditions of employment.As political appointees the ACC’s two top officials are not entitled to a 13th cheque like other civil servants.The two officials took up their top ACC posts in January 2006.Up until the end of 2005, they had worked for the Ministry of Justice.With the new appointments, they now fall under the ambit of the Prime Minister’s office.They were allegedly alerted about the 13th-cheque mistake, upon which they arranged with the salary office to have the money deducted from their salaries over 24 months.Contacted for comment, Noa said he “remembered having been paid a double salary somewhere in February (2006)”.He said this happened when the two were being transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the autonomous Anti-Corruption Commission.Van der Merwe corroborated Noa’s account, but was adamant that she had personally informed the Ministry of Justice about the error.According to Noa, during the transitional period the Ministry of Finance was installing a new payroll system and the double payment was not only confined to the ACC.He said other Government agencies and ministries had also been affected.When asked why she had not paid back the money in one lump sum, Van der Merwe said “it was a lot of money involved”.She said that the treasury rules provided for the monthly-instalment scenario.Noa vehemently denied any knowledge of a 13th cheque payment.”We are political appointees and are not entitled to such payments.”I don’t know anything about it (thirteenth cheque),” he said.Van der Merwe said she had picked up on the 13th cheque.”I do not know about Mr Noa, but I did receive a thirteenth cheque,” Van der Merwe confirmed.She said she had not requested either the double salary or the 13th cheque.”It was the fault of the employer”, she said.She said she was very “upset about the erroneous” payments, and again emphasised that she had alerted the salary office about it “and not the other way around”. She could not remember when she had started making her repayments.News of the overpayments comes a day after two top Government officials – National Assembly Secretary Nama Gaobeb and the Chief Accountant of the Assembly, Abraham John George – appeared in court on corruption charges following an ACC probe.The ACC also announced on Monday that it is closing in on alleged corruption in the Karas Regional Council.