Kandara spills beans

SWAPO Youth League leader and Works Deputy Minister Paulus Kapia, Ministry of Labour official Otniel Podewiltz, Acting Secretary General of the National Youth Council Ralph Blaauw and retired NDF Brigadier Mathias Shiweda definitely received large amounts of cash from Avid Investment Corporation.

As the High Court liquidation inquiry stretched on into the early evening yesterday, Avid mastermind Lazarus Kandara said he had given the largest sum of money – N$80 000 – to Blaauw. The others received N$40 000 each as their share of profits Kandara said Avid made from a N$10 million deal with the Navachab Gold Mine.In fact, they were initially supposed to receive double that amount, Kandara said.”They confirmed to me upon my arrival when we met, that they received the money,” said Kandara, creating a stir in the public gallery – both Kapia and Podewiltz have over the weeks denied ever receiving money from Kandara’s wife.KICKS AND KICKBACKSSpilling the beans on who did and who did not receive so-called “commissions” or kickbacks as a result of the SSC’s N$30 million investment with Avid, Kandara insisted however that the money received by the directors was not from the SSC’s investment.On the other hand, he said, none of the people on a list he drew up on a hotel memo pad in Josea’s office had received a “single cent” from Avid.With Josea having been unable to shed much light on the list that surfaced in Avid’s office a week ago, Kandara yesterday confirmed that he had written the note.He said it was only his intention to give suspended SSC Chief Tuli Hiveluah N$250 000 and sacked Finance Manager Gideon Mulder N$150 000 because he feared that they stood to lose their jobs as a result of Avid not being able to meet their end of the deal – but they never received any money.”I was worried about that [that they would lose their jobs],” said Kandara, maintaining that Blaauw had warned him that it was a possibility given the delay in repaying the SSC’s money.Confirming last week’s testimony of both his wife Christophine and the middleman in the SSC investment, Nico Josea of Namangol Investments, Kandara told the court that he had instructed Josea to deliver money to his wife, which would be shared among the directors.The money, he said, was to allow the directors to “cover their daily expenses”.Another director, his cousin Inez /Gâses, he said, had declined any “commission” on the deal.She had said she preferred to wait until the company was more established before accepting money from their business transactions, Kandara testified.Kandara said she had requested that any proceeds due to her rather be ploughed back into the company.”So the others didn’t decline?” asked Heathcote.”No,” said Kandara emphatically.Asked whether he had ever given directors more money than the N$40 000 allegedly dished out by his wife, Kandara corroborated his wife’s testimony that he had paid Podewiltz another N$10 000 on behalf of his brother.This, he said, was for a thatched roof that his brother had failed to build for Podewiltz.Only after a whole day in the witness box did he admit to giving Blaauw N$40 000 more than the others – based on a “special arrangement” between them, he said.BLAAUW WAS ‘THE REAL DEAL’ After considerable debate since the start of the inquiry as to who exactly the Avid directors are, Kandara yesterday identified them as Kapia, Podewiltz, Sharon Blaauw and Inez /Gâses.He said Blaauw’s wife was merely a front, and that all his dealings had been with Ralph Blaauw.”Her husband was always representing her,” said Kandara.Kandara maintained that Mrs Blaauw never knew “what was going on” and that she had also not received any money.When he approached Ralph Blaauw to be a director, Blaauw had said the documents had to be put in the name of his wife, but never provided a reason for this, Kandara said.Shiweda, he said, was not a director although he was listed on some of the company’s documents as such, but was “part of the group”.Shiweda is in fact a direct shareholder in Avid, the court would later hear.Kandara was at a loss, however, to tell the court exactly how much money he and the directors were expecting to pocket from the SSC investment.He further maintained that he had never had any direct dealings with the SSC and had never even been to their premises.He maintained that all communication on Avid’s behalf was done by either Blaauw or Kapia.NO KICKBACKS When the return of the Avid investment to the SSC was delayed, Kandara said that he planned to approach the South African trader Alan Rosenberg, whom Avid via Namangol had entrusted with the SSC’s money, to advance him enough money to pay Hiveluah, Mulder and others.”So that wasn’t N$250? You left off the zeros,” Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote asked of the amount written next to Hiveluah’s name.”No, no, that was thousands,” Kandara confirmed, but said that he had never met, talked to or even seen Hiveluah.Asked why he felt Hiveluah and Mulder should benefit from the deal having gone sour, Kandara said it was because Ralph Blaauw had told him that these were the two men ultimately responsible for the investment with Avid.Questioned on the amounts, Kandara said he estimated these based on what it would cost them to “survive” for a quarter of a year, if they were to lose their jobs because of the soured deal.He further identified the “group” on the list that was supposed to collectively receive N$180 000 as Kapia, Ralph Blaauw, Podewiltz, Shiweda and himself.Kandara maintained that this had been decided by all the parties in the said group.Justifying the payouts, he said that this was “still money outstanding that should have come to us”.Kandara said that as directors they deserved some “acknowledgement”.”If you get the N$32 million today, will you still give it [the N$180 000] to them [the group],” asked Heathcote.”I made a promise to them, so I’ll give it to them,” was Kandara’s response.”The question is whether they will still want to receive it,” Heathcote quipped.Kandara identified “Sandmann”, who was listed to receive N$60 000, as Hendrik Sandmann, the man with whom he said he had a very close working relationship.He said Sandmann had helped him a lot in the past, especially when he was out of the country, and he knew Sandmann was in arrears in paying his house bond.The only payment ever to be made in terms of that list, Kandara said, was N$137 000 to office furniture suppliers Office Economix.Another amount of N$170 000 also written alongside the word “office” was to partition and set up the Avid offices, he said.Kandara could, however, not remember when exactly he penned the list, but confirmed that it was in Josea’s office and could have been around the end of May.He said the notepad from the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria on which the list was written was one he had taken from the hotel.Josea had claimed in his testimony last week that it was his notepad and lying in his office.The others received N$40 000 each as their share of profits Kandara said Avid made from a N$10 million deal with the Navachab Gold Mine.In fact, they were initially supposed to receive double that amount, Kandara said.”They confirmed to me upon my arrival when we met, that they received the money,” said Kandara, creating a stir in the public gallery – both Kapia and Podewiltz have over the weeks denied ever receiving money from Kandara’s wife.KICKS AND KICKBACKS Spilling the beans on who did and who did not receive so-called “commissions” or kickbacks as a result of the SSC’s N$30 million investment with Avid, Kandara insisted however that the money received by the directors was not from the SSC’s investment.On the other hand, he said, none of the people on a list he drew up on a hotel memo pad in Josea’s office had received a “single cent” from Avid.With Josea having been unable to shed much light on the list that surfaced in Avid’s office a week ago, Kandara yesterday confirmed that he had written the note.He said it was only his intention to give suspended SSC Chief Tuli Hiveluah N$250 000 and sacked Finance Manager Gideon Mulder N$150 000 because he feared that they stood to lose their jobs as a result of Avid not being able to meet their end of the deal – but they never received any money.”I was worried about that [that they would lose their jobs],” said Kandara, maintaining that Blaauw had warned him that it was a possibility given the delay in repaying the SSC’s money.Confirming last week’s testimony of both his wife Christophine and the middleman in the SSC investment, Nico Josea of Namangol Investments, Kandara told the court that he had instructed Josea to deliver money to his wife, which would be shared among the directors.The money, he said, was to allow the directors to “cover their daily expenses”.Another director, his cousin Inez /Gâses, he said, had declined any “commission” on the deal.She had said she preferred to wait until the company was more established before accepting money from their business transactions, Kandara testified.Kandara said she had requested that any proceeds due to her rather be ploughed back into the company.”So the others didn’t decline?” asked Heathcote.”No,” said Kandara emphatically.Asked whether he had ever given directors more money than the N$40 000 allegedly dished out by his wife, Kandara corroborated his wife’s testimony that he had paid Podewiltz another N$10 000 on behalf of his brother.This, he said, was for a thatched roof that his brother had failed to build for Podewiltz.Only after a whole day in the witness box did he admit to giving Blaauw N$40 000 more than the others – based on a “special arrangement” between them, he said.BLAAUW WAS ‘THE REAL DEAL’ After considerable debate since the start of the inquiry as to who exactly the Avid directors are, Kandara yesterday identified them as Kapia, Podewiltz, Sharon Blaauw and Inez /Gâses.He said Blaauw’s wife was merely a front, and that all his dealings had been with Ralph Blaauw.”Her husband was always representing her,” said Kandara.Kandara maintained that Mrs Blaauw never knew “what was going on” and that she had also not received any money.When he approached Ralph Blaauw to be a director, Blaauw had said the documents had to be put in the name of his wife, but never provided a reason for this, Kandara said.Shiweda, he said, was not a director although he was listed on some of the company’s documents as such, but was “part of the group”.Shiweda is in fact a direct shareholder in Avid, the court would later hear.Kandara was at a loss, however, to tell the court exactly how much money he and the directors were expecting to pocket from the SSC investment.He further maintained that he had never had any direct dealings with the SSC and had never even been to their premises.He maintained that all communication on Avid’s behalf was done by either Blaauw or Kapia.NO KICKBACKS When the return of the Avid investment to the SSC was delayed, Kandara said that he planned to approach the South African trader Alan Rosenberg, whom Avid via Namangol had entrusted with the SSC’s money, to advance him enough money to pay Hiveluah, Mulder and others.”So that wasn’t N$250? You left off the zeros,” Acting Judge Raymond Heathcote asked of the amount written next to Hiveluah’s name.”No, no, that was thousands,” Kandara confirmed, but said that he had never met, talked to or even seen Hiveluah.Asked why he felt Hiveluah and Mulder should benefit from the deal having gone sour, Kandara said it was because Ralph Blaauw had told him that these were the two men ultimately responsible for the investment with Avid.Questioned on the amounts, Kandara said he estimated these based on what it would cost them to “survive” for a quarter of a year, if they were to lose their jobs because of the soured deal.He further identified the “group” on the list that was supposed to collectively receive N$180 000 as Kapia, Ralph Blaauw, Podewiltz, Shiweda and himself.Kandara maintained that this had been decided by all the parties in the said group.Justifying the payouts, he said that this was “still money outstanding that should have come to us”.Kandara said that as directors they deserved some “acknowledgement”.”If you get the N$32 million today, will you still give it [the N$180 000] to them [the group],” asked Heathcote.”I made a promise to them, so I’ll give it to them,” was Kandara’s response.”The question is whether they will still want to receive it,” Heathcote quipped.Kandara identified “Sandmann”, who was listed to receive N$60 000, as Hendrik Sandmann, the man with whom he said he had a very close working relationship.He said Sandmann had helped him a lot in the past, especially when he was out of the country, and he knew Sandmann was in arrears in paying his house bond.The only payment ever to be made in terms of that list, Kandara said, was N$137 000 to office furniture suppliers Office Economix.Another amount of N$170 000 also written alongside the word “office” was to partition and set up the Avid offices, he said.Kandara could, however, not remember when exactly he penned the list, but confirmed that it was in Josea’s office and could have been around the end of May.He said the notepad from the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria on which the list was written was one he had taken from the hotel. Josea had claimed in his testimony last week that it was his notepad and lying in his office.