DBC probe ‘obsessed’ with Hamutenya

“IF the aim is to get Hidipo [Hamutenya, axed former Minister of Foreign Affairs], then time is quickly running out,” a member of the public remarked as he left yesterday’s hearing of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the activities of the Development Brigade Corporation (DBC) and Amalgamated Commercial Holdings (Amcom).

But sources close to the Commission remain upbeat that the “ultimate target will be achieved”, and have hinted to The Namibian that the probe, which started a month ago, had so far only concentrated on the DBC to set the stage for “real things” when the focus shifts to Amcom. Yesterday, it was evident that the commissioners, left with about two weeks to complete their investigation, were aware of the urgency of the matter as they grilled witnesses in what appeared like a clear attempt to establish Hamutenya’s role in the failed parastatal.The Commission seemed keen to know the ex-minister’s involvement in the appointment of board members and heads of the DBC’s various subsidiaries, as well as in the general operations of the corporation, established to integrate former combatants.First on the witness stand was former Tsumeb Mayor, Susan Nghidinwa, who later served as a director and general manager of Namibia Pioneer Engineering (NPE) – a DBC subsidiary.”Please tell us how you were appointed as a board member and later as GM [of NPE] and who approached you,” the Commission’s legal counsel, Eldorette Harmse, inquired.”I received a letter [of appointment] which was signed by DBC General Manager [Simon Shikangala], but nobody approached me prior to that,” responded Nghidinwa, who is now based in Luanda with the Pan African Women’s Organisation.Harmse put it to Nghidinwa that Shikangala had already testified that the letter of appointment was signed by him but the appointment was in fact done by “ex-Honorable Minister Hamutenya”.”It is difficult to know who appoints you, but if there is a signature on the letter then you just take it that is the person who appointed you,” the former Mayor said.Chairperson Petrus Unengu and commissioner Festus Mbadenka wanted to know why the position of general manager was not advertised and whether it was discussed at board level before it was given to Nghidinwa, who was a board member at the time.”I was surprised when I received the letter of appointment …whether the issue was discussed by the board …it was not in my presence,” she said emphatically.The former Foreign Minister’s name also featured prominently when Izak Coetzee, DBC Board Chairman from 1998 to 2000, was called to the witness stand.Coetzee felt the full weight of the commissioners’ interrogation when he stated that the DBC had regular communication with and reported to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which according to him was the line ministry.”Was it with the Ministry or with the Minister,” asked a curious Harmse.”Well, the head of the ministry is the minister…,” the witness retorted, visibly baffled by the question.Unengu chipped in immediately:”The question of the legal counsel is a very important one, Mr Coetzee.We want you to be very clear whether it was with the minister himself you dealt or someone else in the Ministry.””Chairman, that is difficult but I assume that even if the reports were given to the permanent secretary or anybody else, it should [have been] the minister who presented them to Cabinet,” the witness stressed.”Will it be correct to say that the Ministry [of Trade and Industry] as such was not involved, when you had to report, it was to the minister,” Harmse persisted.But a perplexed-looking Coetzee only shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands open without uttering any words.Coetzee also raised the commissioners’ anxiety when he suggested that former DBC General Manager Simon Shikangalah had more contact with Hamutenya than he had with the board.”I want you to express yourself as to whether it was correct that the GM seemingly communicated more with the Minister than [with] the DBC Board,” said commissioner Brian Nalisa.”There were so many grey areas with regard to this whole [DBC] establishment …lines of communications and responsibilities were sometimes by-passed and structures were not considered,” the former DBC Chairman noted.On the procedures used in the appointment of directors and general managers of DBC subsidiaries, Coetzee said that:”Names were presented to the DBC Board from outside by Shikangalah, but I don’t know how they were selected.”Hamutenya had been implicated in the appointment of the managers, but he has since denied involvement.Hamutenya, who at the time was both Minister of Trade and Industry as well as Chairman of the Cabinet Steering Committee on the DBC, was fired earlier this year after differing with President Sam Nujoma during the acrimonious race to choose Swapo’s candidate for State president.Supporters of the ex-Minister view the inquiry, whose findings Nujoma has for the first time vowed to make public, as a witch-hunt against him.It is still not known whether Hamutenya will be subpoenaed to testify.Yesterday, it was evident that the commissioners, left with about two weeks to complete their investigation, were aware of the urgency of the matter as they grilled witnesses in what appeared like a clear attempt to establish Hamutenya’s role in the failed parastatal.The Commission seemed keen to know the ex-minister’s involvement in the appointment of board members and heads of the DBC’s various subsidiaries, as well as in the general operations of the corporation, established to integrate former combatants.First on the witness stand was former Tsumeb Mayor, Susan Nghidinwa, who later served as a director and general manager of Namibia Pioneer Engineering (NPE) – a DBC subsidiary.”Please tell us how you were appointed as a board member and later as GM [of NPE] and who approached you,” the Commission’s legal counsel, Eldorette Harmse, inquired.”I received a letter [of appointment] which was signed by DBC General Manager [Simon Shikangala], but nobody approached me prior to that,” responded Nghidinwa, who is now based in Luanda with the Pan African Women’s Organisation.Harmse put it to Nghidinwa that Shikangala had already testified that the letter of appointment was signed by him but the appointment was in fact done by “ex-Honorable Minister Hamutenya”.”It is difficult to know who appoints you, but if there is a signature on the letter then you just take it that is the person who appointed you,” the former Mayor said.Chairperson Petrus Unengu and commissioner Festus Mbadenka wanted to know why the position of general manager was not advertised and whether it was discussed at board level before it was given to Nghidinwa, who was a board member at the time.”I was surprised when I received the letter of appointment …whether the issue was discussed by the board …it was not in my presence,” she said emphatically.The former Foreign Minister’s name also featured prominently when Izak Coetzee, DBC Board Chairman from 1998 to 2000, was called to the witness stand.Coetzee felt the full weight of the commissioners’ interrogation when he stated that the DBC had regular communication with and reported to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which according to him was the line ministry.”Was it with the Ministry or with the Minister,” asked a curious Harmse.”Well, the head of the ministry is the minister…,” the witness retorted, visibly baffled by the question.Unengu chipped in immediately:”The question of the legal counsel is a very important one, Mr Coetzee.We want you to be very clear whether it was with the minister himself you dealt or someone else in the Ministry.””Chairman, that is difficult but I assume that even if the reports were given to the permanent secretary or anybody else, it should [have been] the minister who presented them to Cabinet,” the witness stressed.”Will it be correct to say that the Ministry [of Trade and Industry] as such was not involved, when you had to report, it was to the minister,” Harmse persisted.But a perplexed-looking Coetzee only shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands open without uttering any words.Coetzee also raised the commissioners’ anxiety when he suggested that former DBC General Manager Simon Shikangalah had more contact with Hamutenya than he had with the board.”I want you to express yourself as to whether it was correct that the GM seemingly communicated more with the Minister than [with] the DBC Board,” said commissioner Brian Nalisa.”There were so many grey areas with regard to this whole [DBC] establishment …lines of communications and responsibilities were sometimes by-passed and structures were not considered,” the former DBC Chairman noted.On the procedures used in the appointment of directors and general managers of DBC subsidiaries, Coetzee said that:”Names were presented to the DBC Board from outside by Shikangalah, but I don’t know how they were selected.”Hamutenya had been implicated in the appointment of the managers, but he has since denied involvement.Hamutenya, who at the time was both Minister of Trade and Industry as well as Chairman of the Cabinet Steering Committee on the DBC, was fired earlier this year after differing with President Sam Nujoma during the acrimonious race to choose Swapo’s candidate for State president.Supporters of the ex-Minister view the inquiry, whose findings Nujoma has for the first time vowed to make public, as a witch-hunt against him.It is still not known whether Hamutenya will be subpoenaed to testify.