Avid-SSC case resumes

THE High Court saga over the N$30-million investment that the Social Security Commission made with Avid Investment Corporation in late January is scheduled to resume for possibly its second-last day today.

Lawyer Andrew Corbett, who over the past two months has represented the SSC and the provisional liquidator under whose control Avid and another provisionally liquidated asset management company, Namangol Investments, have been placed, said yesterday that four more people were expected to give evidence before the High Court’s inquiry wraps up tomorrow. When the inquiry resumes before Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote, it will be the twelfth day that the Acting Judge will hear evidence on what has become Namibia’s most scrutinised investment deal in years.Corbett said it was expected that Namangol Investments’ Chief Executive Officer, Nico Josea, would return to the witness stand once more today or tomorrow so that his evidence could be finalised, while his attorney, Derick Greyling, might also give evidence this week.AND THEN THERE WERE TWO …Another two likely witnesses are the only remaining former director of Avid not yet to have given evidence in the inquiry, former Namibia Defence Force Brigadier Mathias Shiweda, and Ralph Blaauw, the former Swapo member of the National Assembly who last week announced his resignation as Acting Secretary General of the National Youth Council as a result of the SSC-Avid inquiry.Blaauw’s wife is a director of Avid, but she has told the court that because of a busy schedule over the past year she almost never got involved in the company’s affairs and thus remained thoroughly uninformed about what was going on in Avid.Blaauw, however, was mentioned several times in testimony about Avid’s activities.The court heard that Ralph Blaauw was on the scene several times at key stages when Avid was being set up by its Chief Executive Officer, the late Lazarus Kandara.He was also present when the company lobbied the SSC for money to be invested through it.The result of that evidence is that Blaauw might be asked today or tomorrow to explain the role he had played in Avid.JOSEA VS KANDARA Josea has already given quite extensive evidence on his company’s role in the SSC-Avid deal, but with Corbett having made it abundantly clear that many of Josea’s explanations in court did not at all convince him, he might face further cross-examination on his evidence today or tomorrow.After Avid had received N$30 million from the SSC on January 26, Kandara had N$29,5 million transferred from Avid’s bank account to an account of Namangol Investments two days later.At that point the evidence given by Kandara before his claimed suicide two weeks ago and by Josea starts to diverge widely.According to Kandara, his instructions to Josea were that the latter was supposed to top up that N$29,5 million with N$500 000 and send N$30 million to a financial trader in South Africa, one Alan Rosenberg, who was supposed to invest the money on Avid’s behalf for a three-month period at an expected rate of return as high as 60 per cent a year.According to Josea, though, Kandara had told him to send only N$20 million to Rosenberg to be invested, while Josea had to invest another N$6,3 million for Kandara in London, and had to return the remaining N$3,2 million to Kandara in cash.The inquiry has also heard evidence that Rosenberg paid N$15 million into a trust account of Josea’s lawyers in Johannesburg, the firm of Greyling Orchard Inc.The firm in turn paid N$14,89 million to Josea on March 14.HEAVY SPENDING At that stage a spending spree of notable proportions started, with Josea dishing out money at such a rate that within three and a half months his personal bank account balance had dipped below the N$100 000 mark again.Greyling has previously indicated that he would be willing to assist the inquiry with information about the origin and purpose of the money that his firm was claimed to have received from Rosenberg, as long as Josea was prepared to waive the attorney-client privilege that covers their relationship.If he is present when the inquiry continues today, Greyling might be called upon to tell the court whether, as far as he knew, the N$15 million that Rosenberg was said to have paid to Josea through his firm had originally been part of the SSC’s N$30 million.Rosenberg has made a series of promises to the court that he would be repaying money he received from Josea or Namangol Investment.However deadline after deadline has passed in this regard without any money having yet been forthcoming from him.Kandara’s lawyer, Lucius Murorua, who has been in contact with Rosenberg in recent weeks in this connection, said yesterday that Rosenberg had still not paid anything by late yesterday afternoon.When the inquiry resumes before Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote, it will be the twelfth day that the Acting Judge will hear evidence on what has become Namibia’s most scrutinised investment deal in years.Corbett said it was expected that Namangol Investments’ Chief Executive Officer, Nico Josea, would return to the witness stand once more today or tomorrow so that his evidence could be finalised, while his attorney, Derick Greyling, might also give evidence this week.AND THEN THERE WERE TWO …Another two likely witnesses are the only remaining former director of Avid not yet to have given evidence in the inquiry, former Namibia Defence Force Brigadier Mathias Shiweda, and Ralph Blaauw, the former Swapo member of the National Assembly who last week announced his resignation as Acting Secretary General of the National Youth Council as a result of the SSC-Avid inquiry.Blaauw’s wife is a director of Avid, but she has told the court that because of a busy schedule over the past year she almost never got involved in the company’s affairs and thus remained thoroughly uninformed about what was going on in Avid.Blaauw, however, was mentioned several times in testimony about Avid’s activities.The court heard that Ralph Blaauw was on the scene several times at key stages when Avid was being set up by its Chief Executive Officer, the late Lazarus Kandara. He was also present when the company lobbied the SSC for money to be invested through it.The result of that evidence is that Blaauw might be asked today or tomorrow to explain the role he had played in Avid.JOSEA VS KANDARA Josea has already given quite extensive evidence on his company’s role in the SSC-Avid deal, but with Corbett having made it abundantly clear that many of Josea’s explanations in court did not at all convince him, he might face further cross-examination on his evidence today or tomorrow.After Avid had received N$30 million from the SSC on January 26, Kandara had N$29,5 million transferred from Avid’s bank account to an account of Namangol Investments two days later.At that point the evidence given by Kandara before his claimed suicide two weeks ago and by Josea starts to diverge widely.According to Kandara, his instructions to Josea were that the latter was supposed to top up that N$29,5 million with N$500 000 and send N$30 million to a financial trader in South Africa, one Alan Rosenberg, who was supposed to invest the money on Avid’s behalf for a three-month period at an expected rate of return as high as 60 per cent a year.According to Josea, though, Kandara had told him to send only N$20 million to Rosenberg to be invested, while Josea had to invest another N$6,3 million for Kandara in London, and had to return the remaining N$3,2 million to Kandara in cash.The inquiry has also heard evidence that Rosenberg paid N$15 million into a trust account of Josea’s lawyers in Johannesburg, the firm of Greyling Orchard Inc.The firm in turn paid N$14,89 million to Josea on March 14. HEAVY SPENDING At that stage a spending spree of notable proportions started, with Josea dishing out money at such a rate that within three and a half months his personal bank account balance had dipped below the N$100 000 mark again.Greyling has previously indicated that he would be willing to assist the inquiry with information about the origin and purpose of the money that hi
s firm was claimed to have received from Rosenberg, as long as Josea was prepared to waive the attorney-client privilege that covers their relationship.If he is present when the inquiry continues today, Greyling might be called upon to tell the court whether, as far as he knew, the N$15 million that Rosenberg was said to have paid to Josea through his firm had originally been part of the SSC’s N$30 million.Rosenberg has made a series of promises to the court that he would be repaying money he received from Josea or Namangol Investment.However deadline after deadline has passed in this regard without any money having yet been forthcoming from him.Kandara’s lawyer, Lucius Murorua, who has been in contact with Rosenberg in recent weeks in this connection, said yesterday that Rosenberg had still not paid anything by late yesterday afternoon.