Hango makes U-turn

PRIMUS Hango, the Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) chief executive officer, has allegedly been talked into retracting his resignation and is set to return to work today, The Namibian has been informed.

Talk of Hango’s resignation from the GIPF’s hot seat has been rife this week and according to reports in a local English daily yesterday Hango neither denied nor confirmed his resignation, referring all enquiries to the board of trustees. GIPF board chairperson Gordon Elliot yesterday told The Namibian that Hango was going to be in his office today. Elliot also said the issue of Hango and two other GIPF executives being asked to take leave in view of the forensic audit taking place at the GIPF has been dealt with. He refused to comment further, saying the GIPF would issue a media statement on the issue. BDO Spencer is conducting the forensic audit on behalf of the Auditor General.What worries those in the industry is that the terms of reference are allegedly so open ended that the forensic audit may not yield the expected results, although Auditor General Junias Kandjeke yesterday said the probe was near complete. The GIPF board allegedly called an emergency meeting on Tuesday after Hango allegedly wrote to the board that he was going to resign. Hango’s term of office expires this year. Hango could not be reached for comment yesterday.Hango, the fund’s general manager of investments, Neville Field, investment manager Levi Tshoopara, trustee Peter Nevonga and chairman Gordon Elliot were asked to stay away from the GIPF until the forensic audit was concluded. Auditor General Junias Kandjeke in November requested President Hifikepunye Pohamba to remove the five officials from their offices because they might jeopardise the investigation.Prime Minister Nahas Angula thereafter requested the officials to go on leave as an act of good faith. Field, who was serving his resignation notice period, refused to go on leave, stating that he had nothing to hide. Field is said to have cleared his desk as he was only supposed to work until the end of this month. Elliot said he and Nevonga agreed to recuse themselves from any board meeting dealing with the GIPF’s failed Development Capital Portfolio (DCP).It is not clear under what circumstances Hango will be returning to work today if he was asked to be leave until the probe was concluded. Prime Minister Angula would not elaborate on the conditions of the requested leave. Apart from Field’s resignation in November last year, former board chairman Hartmut Ruppel also severed ties with GIPF in October last year in protest against Government’s decision to freeze the fund’s new Unlisted Investment Programme.GIPF had budgeted N$4 billion for the new programme to be advanced as loans to unlisted ventures.A forensic probe conducted by the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (Namfisa) into the DCP fiasco revealed a trail of financial impropriety in the granting of loans.The Namfisa report concluded that the DCP was ‘fatally flawed’.Government’s decision to investigate came after persistent pressure from workers’ unions and a general public outcry about the lack of action, especially after it emerged that both Prime Minister Angula and Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila had been fully briefed by Namfisa in 2007 already and asked to take action, but shelved the reports and recommendations.The 2007 Namfisa report recommended that the trustees and management of the GIPF be replaced.It also proposed that a presidential commission of inquiry be instituted and that the directors of the various companies that benefited from DCP be investigated and personally held liable for the lost money in terms of the Companies Act.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.