Govt says pulling out all stops on missing ODC millions

GOVERNMENT says it is closing in on tracing nearly N$100 million in public funds from a dubious investment of the Offshore Development Company.

In an exclusive interview with The Namibian yesterday, Permanent Secretary of Trade and Industry Andrew Ndishishi was reluctant to reveal details of the extent of the investigation at this stage, but said the public should be assured that “everything is being done to protect the interests of Government and the public”. “The occupation of the Namibian Government is to get that money.We are working very hard.We are chasing that money for sure,” he said.Ndishishi outlined that tracing the money was only the first step in a myriad of actions that would follow as a result of the botched investment.”Our first concern is tracing the money.When we trace it, we hope to recover it.Then we need to find out what happened, who did what, who violated laws and the regulations of the company.As a third step we need to know what lesson Namibia can learn from this so that it doesn’t happen again that a person can come here with a briefcase and take millions.”Investigations currently span three countries: * Botswana, where Great Triangle Investments is registered as a company, with at least one Botswana director; * South Africa, where the main players who clinched the deal with ODC, Philip Fourie and Tertius Theart, are believed to be living; * and Namibia, from where the transaction originated in 2003 with the authorisation for the transfer of millions of dollars of both the ODC and its embattled sister company, the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) by ODC and NDC Chief Executive Officer Abdool Aboobakar and ODC Board Chairperson Gerdus Burmeister.Aboobakar, a Mauritian national, is on sick leave in Namibia.MORE INVESTIGATIONS Once Government has made strides in tracking down its money, internal investigations are sure to follow and ODC officials will be expected to explain the investment with Great Triangle Investments.”Concrete measures are being taken to ensure that anyone who violated the law will be brought to book,” said Ndishishi.Government is the main shareholder of the ODC, a company registered under the Companies Act, with close to 95 per cent shares.Burmeister, the ODC’s Board Chairperson, holds the remaining shares.The Namibian revealed on Friday that at least N$55 million of the ODC investment was money from the NDC, which it had been given by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to manage a number of projects.The NDC made 17 transfers between June 2003 and January 2004 to the ODC at an interest rate of 19 per cent.The boards of both companies met last week, but have avoided commenting on any resolutions they may have taken on this matter.Ndishishi sits on the boards of both these companies, but said he was unaware of any decision by either of them to invest with Great Triangle Investments.The Namibian understands that Great Triangle Investments, which has no operational office in Botswana, might have been a front for the operations of Fourie and Theart, who are believed to have moved the money between other companies of which they are the directors, most notably Comserve Investments.Fourie has a history of attempted fraud and resigned as the CEO of the Amatola Water Board in a cloud of controversy in 2001 for allegedly trying to cede public assets valued at N$1,6 billion for personal transactions.Investigations by The Namibian have revealed that Theart has his fingers in a number of pies – including a guesthouse in George and a restaurant in Stellenbosch.Although not registered as a director of Great Triangle Investments, The Namibian has it on good authority that he was central to the ODC investment.LESSONS TO BE LEARNED Ndishishi confirmed a report in The Namibian that the NDC and ODC are not permitted to invest capital funds channelled from the Ministry of Trade for specific projects, and neither are they allowed to invest any money offshore.He said any returns these companies made from the investments of project implementation funds which they were permitted to invest, they would be allowed to use for their own operational expenses.Ndishishi said in future Government would have to turn its focus to strengthening corporate governance and that his Ministry was already looking beyond the recovery of the ODC money.”We have to look at how to build the necessary skills and the financial capacity to manage our resources.We need to look at whether it is a good policy to invest with the company that promises the highest returns, because that is also when you have the highest risk,” said Ndishishi.”We have to look beyond the recovery of the money.This has to be a lesson [for Namibia]”.”The occupation of the Namibian Government is to get that money.We are working very hard.We are chasing that money for sure,” he said.Ndishishi outlined that tracing the money was only the first step in a myriad of actions that would follow as a result of the botched investment.”Our first concern is tracing the money.When we trace it, we hope to recover it.Then we need to find out what happened, who did what, who violated laws and the regulations of the company.As a third step we need to know what lesson Namibia can learn from this so that it doesn’t happen again that a person can come here with a briefcase and take millions.”Investigations currently span three countries: * Botswana, where Great Triangle Investments is registered as a company, with at least one Botswana director; * South Africa, where the main players who clinched the deal with ODC, Philip Fourie and Tertius Theart, are believed to be living; * and Namibia, from where the transaction originated in 2003 with the authorisation for the transfer of millions of dollars of both the ODC and its embattled sister company, the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) by ODC and NDC Chief Executive Officer Abdool Aboobakar and ODC Board Chairperson Gerdus Burmeister.Aboobakar, a Mauritian national, is on sick leave in Namibia. MORE INVESTIGATIONS Once Government has made strides in tracking down its money, internal investigations are sure to follow and ODC officials will be expected to explain the investment with Great Triangle Investments.”Concrete measures are being taken to ensure that anyone who violated the law will be brought to book,” said Ndishishi.Government is the main shareholder of the ODC, a company registered under the Companies Act, with close to 95 per cent shares.Burmeister, the ODC’s Board Chairperson, holds the remaining shares.The Namibian revealed on Friday that at least N$55 million of the ODC investment was money from the NDC, which it had been given by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to manage a number of projects.The NDC made 17 transfers between June 2003 and January 2004 to the ODC at an interest rate of 19 per cent.The boards of both companies met last week, but have avoided commenting on any resolutions they may have taken on this matter.Ndishishi sits on the boards of both these companies, but said he was unaware of any decision by either of them to invest with Great Triangle Investments.The Namibian understands that Great Triangle Investments, which has no operational office in Botswana, might have been a front for the operations of Fourie and Theart, who are believed to have moved the money between other companies of which they are the directors, most notably Comserve Investments.Fourie has a history of attempted fraud and resigned as the CEO of the Amatola Water Board in a cloud of controversy in 2001 for allegedly trying to cede public assets valued at N$1,6 billion for personal transactions.Investigations by The Namibian have revealed that Theart has his fingers in a number of pies – including a guesthouse in George and a restaurant in Stellenbosch.Although not registered as a director of Great Triangle Investments, The Namibian has it on good authority that he was central to the ODC investment.LESSONS TO BE LEARNED Ndishishi confirmed a report in The Namibian that the NDC and ODC are not permitted to invest capital funds channelled from the Ministry of Trade for specific projects, and ne
ither are they allowed to invest any money offshore.He said any returns these companies made from the investments of project implementation funds which they were permitted to invest, they would be allowed to use for their own operational expenses.Ndishishi said in future Government would have to turn its focus to strengthening corporate governance and that his Ministry was already looking beyond the recovery of the ODC money.”We have to look at how to build the necessary skills and the financial capacity to manage our resources.We need to look at whether it is a good policy to invest with the company that promises the highest returns, because that is also when you have the highest risk,” said Ndishishi.”We have to look beyond the recovery of the money.This has to be a lesson [for Namibia]”.