Jacobs not involved in Avid

BUSINESSMAN Fritz Jacobs has no direct or indirect dealings with the Social Security Commission (SSC) or Avid Investments.

In an article in The Namibian yesterday, July 11 2005, it was erroneously stated that Jacobs was “fingered in dubious investment deals with the Social Security Commission four years ago”. The reference should have been to Lazarus Kandara and not Jacobs, who was not in any way implicated in SSC investments.This was reported in an article about the SSC struggling to get back N$30 million invested with asset management company Avid at the beginning of the year.The SSC started with legal proceedings last week to recover the investment, which was supposed to have matured in May.Neither the capital nor interest has been repaid.Meanwhile, Jacobs has stressed that he is not involved in Avid Investments.Insight magazine has established that Jacobs was not the creator of Avid Investments and it was thus not his “brainchild”, as reported.He was invited to serve on the board of Avid but resigned as a director in mid-June 2004, though Avid continued to have him listed without his consent.He was also never a shareholder of Avid.Avid made headline news after Jacobs resigned earlier this year as Managing Director of the Navachab gold mine at Karibib amid suggestions of a conflict of interest following the mine’s investment of N$10 million in the assets management company.Jacobs says there was no conflict of interest, as he was neither a director nor a shareholder of Avid before Navachab placed investments with Avid.After the maturity of the N$10 million investment, the Navachab funds were returned with interest.Jacobs, one of Namibia’s prominent black professionals, has been engaged in various business ventures ranging from ICT and property to farming since his resignation from AngloGold Ashanti’s Navachab Mine.Otniel Podewiltz resigned from Avid in November and not earlier this year.The reference should have been to Lazarus Kandara and not Jacobs, who was not in any way implicated in SSC investments.This was reported in an article about the SSC struggling to get back N$30 million invested with asset management company Avid at the beginning of the year.The SSC started with legal proceedings last week to recover the investment, which was supposed to have matured in May.Neither the capital nor interest has been repaid.Meanwhile, Jacobs has stressed that he is not involved in Avid Investments. Insight magazine has established that Jacobs was not the creator of Avid Investments and it was thus not his “brainchild”, as reported.He was invited to serve on the board of Avid but resigned as a director in mid-June 2004, though Avid continued to have him listed without his consent.He was also never a shareholder of Avid.Avid made headline news after Jacobs resigned earlier this year as Managing Director of the Navachab gold mine at Karibib amid suggestions of a conflict of interest following the mine’s investment of N$10 million in the assets management company.Jacobs says there was no conflict of interest, as he was neither a director nor a shareholder of Avid before Navachab placed investments with Avid.After the maturity of the N$10 million investment, the Navachab funds were returned with interest.Jacobs, one of Namibia’s prominent black professionals, has been engaged in various business ventures ranging from ICT and property to farming since his resignation from AngloGold Ashanti’s Navachab Mine.Otniel Podewiltz resigned from Avid in November and not earlier this year.