Editorial: SSC-Avid Saga Must Be Concluded

NAMIBIANS have been left hanging with the whole Social Security Commission (SSC) saga, which unfolded during the recent High Court inquiry into the missing N$30 million invested with Avid.

The hearing, under Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote, went as far as it could in terms of its mandate. Although the money has not yet been retrieved, the company that handled the missing investment, Avid, has been liquidated and disciplinary steps taken against some SSC officials.Nonetheless, many questions remain unanswered, and a number of issues still need to be resolved.The hearing claimed certain victims along the way, among them Lazarus Kandara, the Avid ‘kingpin’ who is alleged to have taken his own life while the hearing was still underway.The probe into his death continues.It also resulted in suspensions at the SSC itself.These included the CEO, Tuli Hiveluah, who chose to resign rather than face the music at a disciplinary hearing.In the process, Hiveluah took with him the ‘secret’ of why he authorised the Avid deal in the first place.This too leaves the public with more questions than answers.It was logical, however, to expect steps to be taken against the Avid directors themselves, but nothing has happened so far, and the matter is still in the hands of the Police and Prosecutor General.The sluggishness in tying up the loose ends is only fuelling suspicions that the whole matter is now being smoothed over, apart from the SSC internal processes that are continuing against the General Manager for Finance and Administration, among others.A coherent explanation is still needed on how and why Avid succeeded in their bid for the N$30 million, which has now ostensibly disappeared for all time.There appears to be a dragging of feet on this issue on the part of officialdom.Although it seems clear that the total disunity and distrust that pervades the upper echelons of the ruling party, Swapo, is responsible for much of this, it clearly illustrates the need for decisive leadership on the part of the President, who must take no prisoners in the battle against corruption.In the absence of a disciplinary hearing against the CEO, his senior officials must face the music.These are highly placed and high-paid officials who, at best, made bad decisions about the investment of public money and must be held accountable.The ‘adverse publicity’ they now face, as the lawyer for one of them said this week, is not only right, but inevitable.Their high salaries and level of responsibility in such a scheme make it so.Gone is the time when people in high office were exempt from further action and allowed to ‘go quietly’ because the buck stopped with them.Too often in our recent history such people have been allowed to disappear quietly from the scene after clearly having mismanaged or defrauded the institutions they headed, with little or no consequence.Some have bounced back later with even bigger and better positions.We would therefore directly call on President Hifikepunye Pohamba to be thoroughly briefed on why certain people have been allowed to escape unharmed, while others are being dealt with.This includes people on both the SSC and Avid sides of the spectrum, and it is neither equal nor just to leave things this way.So, let us conclude this chapter once and for all.Bring to book those who did wrong, and above all, put guidelines and rules in place for the future so that this does not happen again.In the process, we must ensure that those highly paid officials are not made less responsible, but in fact more responsible than others.Although the money has not yet been retrieved, the company that handled the missing investment, Avid, has been liquidated and disciplinary steps taken against some SSC officials.Nonetheless, many questions remain unanswered, and a number of issues still need to be resolved.The hearing claimed certain victims along the way, among them Lazarus Kandara, the Avid ‘kingpin’ who is alleged to have taken his own life while the hearing was still underway.The probe into his death continues.It also resulted in suspensions at the SSC itself.These included the CEO, Tuli Hiveluah, who chose to resign rather than face the music at a disciplinary hearing.In the process, Hiveluah took with him the ‘secret’ of why he authorised the Avid deal in the first place.This too leaves the public with more questions than answers.It was logical, however, to expect steps to be taken against the Avid directors themselves, but nothing has happened so far, and the matter is still in the hands of the Police and Prosecutor General.The sluggishness in tying up the loose ends is only fuelling suspicions that the whole matter is now being smoothed over, apart from the SSC internal processes that are continuing against the General Manager for Finance and Administration, among others.A coherent explanation is still needed on how and why Avid succeeded in their bid for the N$30 million, which has now ostensibly disappeared for all time.There appears to be a dragging of feet on this issue on the part of officialdom.Although it seems clear that the total disunity and distrust that pervades the upper echelons of the ruling party, Swapo, is responsible for much of this, it clearly illustrates the need for decisive leadership on the part of the President, who must take no prisoners in the battle against corruption.In the absence of a disciplinary hearing against the CEO, his senior officials must face the music.These are highly placed and high-paid officials who, at best, made bad decisions about the investment of public money and must be held accountable.The ‘adverse publicity’ they now face, as the lawyer for one of them said this week, is not only right, but inevitable.Their high salaries and level of responsibility in such a scheme make it so.Gone is the time when people in high office were exempt from further action and allowed to ‘go quietly’ because the buck stopped with them.Too often in our recent history such people have been allowed to disappear quietly from the scene after clearly having mismanaged or defrauded the institutions they headed, with little or no consequence.Some have bounced back later with even bigger and better positions.We would therefore directly call on President Hifikepunye Pohamba to be thoroughly briefed on why certain people have been allowed to escape unharmed, while others are being dealt with.This includes people on both the SSC and Avid sides of the spectrum, and it is neither equal nor just to leave things this way.So, let us conclude this chapter once and for all.Bring to book those who did wrong, and above all, put guidelines and rules in place for the future so that this does not happen again.In the process, we must ensure that those highly paid officials are not made less responsible, but in fact more responsible than others.