Chaos over missing cement

A MEETING between the Keetmanshoop Town Council and its management staff on Monday ended in chaos after a war of words erupted between a councillor and the Council’s chief executive officer.

The meeting was supposed to brief councillors on the theft charge the municipality laid against an employee, Neville Hupita. The charge relates to building material that allegedly went missing at the time that Hupita was administering the town’s Build Together programme.The missing material included corrugated iron, cement and doors.Its value is not known.The meeting broke up after Councillor Moses Titus traded accusations with the chief executive officer, Jeremia Shangadi.Titus accused Shangadi of being a “thief”, demanding that he be suspended.According to Titus two other senior staff members are also implicated in the theft.Titus admitted to The Namibian that a row erupted between him and Shangadi at the meeting yesterday.According to Titus, he blamed Shangadi for failing to inform Council before taking crucial decisions on several occasion.”We’ve read the news about the theft in the newspaper, therefore the meeting itself was senseless because he was about to repeat the same information we had read in the newspaper,” Titus said.He confirmed that he called for the suspension of Shangadi and two other senior officials, Epsom Jossop and a certain Apollus, at the meeting.”As chairman of the Build Together programme, Shangadi deserves to be suspended like the other staff members, Hermanus Boois and Mr Witbooi to prevent them from interfering with the Police investigation,” he said.”The Build Together programme scam is coming a long way since 2004, right under Shangadi’s nose.”In turn, Shangadi accused Titus of unprofessional behaviour.”This was not the first time Titus shouted at me in front of my subordinates,” he said.”Titus is corrupt, and doesn’t want to see the truth coming out, therefore defends corrupt practices within the municipality,” Shangadi claimed.”I don’t know why the Council is not alerting the Police if they suspect me of any corrupt practices,” he said.The Namibian has established that municipal staff borrowed some building material belonging to the Build Together programme.However, after the theft charge was laid against Hupita, some of the material was returned yesterday.Yesterday, council employee John Wohlman, who is now administering the programme, confirmed that Jossop returned five bags of cement, while a builder, Mr Kuhlewind, who is also implicated, returned 35 bags of cement.Hupita yesterday made his first court appearance in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court and was granted bail of N$1 500.The case was postponed until March 19.The charge relates to building material that allegedly went missing at the time that Hupita was administering the town’s Build Together programme.The missing material included corrugated iron, cement and doors.Its value is not known.The meeting broke up after Councillor Moses Titus traded accusations with the chief executive officer, Jeremia Shangadi.Titus accused Shangadi of being a “thief”, demanding that he be suspended.According to Titus two other senior staff members are also implicated in the theft.Titus admitted to The Namibian that a row erupted between him and Shangadi at the meeting yesterday.According to Titus, he blamed Shangadi for failing to inform Council before taking crucial decisions on several occasion.”We’ve read the news about the theft in the newspaper, therefore the meeting itself was senseless because he was about to repeat the same information we had read in the newspaper,” Titus said.He confirmed that he called for the suspension of Shangadi and two other senior officials, Epsom Jossop and a certain Apollus, at the meeting.”As chairman of the Build Together programme, Shangadi deserves to be suspended like the other staff members, Hermanus Boois and Mr Witbooi to prevent them from interfering with the Police investigation,” he said.”The Build Together programme scam is coming a long way since 2004, right under Shangadi’s nose.”In turn, Shangadi accused Titus of unprofessional behaviour.”This was not the first time Titus shouted at me in front of my subordinates,” he said.”Titus is corrupt, and doesn’t want to see the truth coming out, therefore defends corrupt practices within the municipality,” Shangadi claimed.”I don’t know why the Council is not alerting the Police if they suspect me of any corrupt practices,” he said.The Namibian has established that municipal staff borrowed some building material belonging to the Build Together programme.However, after the theft charge was laid against Hupita, some of the material was returned yesterday.Yesterday, council employee John Wohlman, who is now administering the programme, confirmed that Jossop returned five bags of cement, while a builder, Mr Kuhlewind, who is also implicated, returned 35 bags of cement.Hupita yesterday made his first court appearance in the Keetmanshoop Magistrate’s Court and was granted bail of N$1 500.The case was postponed until March 19.