‘Mafia-type deals’ characterised sale of Amcom assets: official

MYSTERIOUS transactions and kickbacks, coupled with back-stabbing, intimidation and harassment, were the order of the day as the sale of Amcom assets turned into “Mafia-type deals”.

These wide-spread irregularities saw a former employee of the State company lose his job, possible retrenchment package, businesses, house and personal belongings – and as if that was not enough, he now lives in fear. “As I am sitting here I am trapped in a serious problem, I lost everything and I’m only left with enemies all over,” former Amcom Human Resources Manager, Philip Mwandingi, told the Presidential Inquiry into the collapse of the Development Brigade Corporation (DBC) and Amalgamated Commercial Holdings (Amcom) yesterday.”I think our leaders arranged this process [alienation of Amcom businesses] in collaboration with unscrupulous elements who were out to destroy our [employees’] lives.”The ordeal that left Mwandingi ‘poor’ apparently started when he tendered to buy one of Amcom’s many commercial entities, Oshana Multi-save, which he later bought for N$800 000 together with an Amcom house for another N$200 000.He was asked to resign his post at Amcom once his bid was approved, only to run into “serious problems” later when the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) refused to register the property in his name.The former manager alleged that when he applied for a bank loan to finance the deal, an NDC official at Oshakati, Kathy Fielding, went to lobby the bank not to consider the application as “NDC was anyway going to evict me from the business and house”.According to him, the property was indeed repossessed, apparently together with all his personal belongings that were in the house.”Until today I did not get my personal things back, when I demanded them she (Fielding) told me to lay a case with the Police …all they left me with are court orders after court orders because my former employees want me to pay them,” he charged.”At the moment I can’t sleep in a house, I can’t work in a mahangu field, I can’t sit in a cuca shop because the next [minute there] will be agents coming to attach it.”When Commission Chairman Petrus Unengu asked Mwangingi why he was targeted for such treatment by the NDC officials, the witness suggested that the regional officials took revenge after he started questioning some of the “illegal” deals they were indulging in without the knowledge of the NDC headquarters in Windhoek.”For example, when someone offered to buy a business for, let’s say, N$300 000, the officials would put in their own bid of maybe N$200 000 to NDC.When the bid was approved they would collect N$300 000 from the original bidder but only pay N$200 000 to NDC and the rest went into their pockets,” he alleged.When commissioner Bro-Mathew Shinguandja demanded more information on what he described as “Mafia-type business deals”, Mwandingi revealed that he also successfully tendered to buy another Amcom business, Oshakati Hardware, which was later taken from him and sold to someone else.”We learned that the business was later sold to someone who paid even less, and the reason is still not known why they did that,” Unengu remarked.”Why do you think this business was snatched from you?” Commissioner Festus Mbandeka asked.”I am under oath, I don’t want to speculate …there were some rumours but I don’t want to mention them here,” the witness responded.But Unengu interrupted:”You may go ahead and say it, we’ll accept [what] you say and decide about it.”Mwandingi then informed the Commission that he heard that “someone high” made a deal with an Oshakati businessman, a certain Chicco, to whom the hardware shop was later sold.”Who is this someone high, was it someone in NDC management or outside the company?” asked a persistent Mbandeka.Mwandingi replied:”The name was not given, but it was somebody outside the company …just a husband of one of the NDC managers.”Mwandingi, whose emotional testimony at times left the commissioners staring at him with pity, said that the happenings around the sale of Amcom businesses should serve as an eye-opener.”I don’t know whether we have a law regulating this process of alienating or privatising State assets …we have many loopholes in the current system and people easily enrich themselves in the process,” he cautioned.”As I am sitting here I am trapped in a serious problem, I lost everything and I’m only left with enemies all over,” former Amcom Human Resources Manager, Philip Mwandingi, told the Presidential Inquiry into the collapse of the Development Brigade Corporation (DBC) and Amalgamated Commercial Holdings (Amcom) yesterday.”I think our leaders arranged this process [alienation of Amcom businesses] in collaboration with unscrupulous elements who were out to destroy our [employees’] lives.”The ordeal that left Mwandingi ‘poor’ apparently started when he tendered to buy one of Amcom’s many commercial entities, Oshana Multi-save, which he later bought for N$800 000 together with an Amcom house for another N$200 000.He was asked to resign his post at Amcom once his bid was approved, only to run into “serious problems” later when the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) refused to register the property in his name.The former manager alleged that when he applied for a bank loan to finance the deal, an NDC official at Oshakati, Kathy Fielding, went to lobby the bank not to consider the application as “NDC was anyway going to evict me from the business and house”.According to him, the property was indeed repossessed, apparently together with all his personal belongings that were in the house.”Until today I did not get my personal things back, when I demanded them she (Fielding) told me to lay a case with the Police …all they left me with are court orders after court orders because my former employees want me to pay them,” he charged.”At the moment I can’t sleep in a house, I can’t work in a mahangu field, I can’t sit in a cuca shop because the next [minute there] will be agents coming to attach it.”When Commission Chairman Petrus Unengu asked Mwangingi why he was targeted for such treatment by the NDC officials, the witness suggested that the regional officials took revenge after he started questioning some of the “illegal” deals they were indulging in without the knowledge of the NDC headquarters in Windhoek.”For example, when someone offered to buy a business for, let’s say, N$300 000, the officials would put in their own bid of maybe N$200 000 to NDC.When the bid was approved they would collect N$300 000 from the original bidder but only pay N$200 000 to NDC and the rest went into their pockets,” he alleged.When commissioner Bro-Mathew Shinguandja demanded more information on what he described as “Mafia-type business deals”, Mwandingi revealed that he also successfully tendered to buy another Amcom business, Oshakati Hardware, which was later taken from him and sold to someone else.”We learned that the business was later sold to someone who paid even less, and the reason is still not known why they did that,” Unengu remarked.”Why do you think this business was snatched from you?” Commissioner Festus Mbandeka asked.”I am under oath, I don’t want to speculate …there were some rumours but I don’t want to mention them here,” the witness responded.But Unengu interrupted:”You may go ahead and say it, we’ll accept [what] you say and decide about it.”Mwandingi then informed the Commission that he heard that “someone high” made a deal with an Oshakati businessman, a certain Chicco, to whom the hardware shop was later sold.”Who is this someone high, was it someone in NDC management or outside the company?” asked a persistent Mbandeka.Mwandingi replied:”The name was not given, but it was somebody outside the company …just a husband of one of the NDC managers.”Mwandingi, whose emotional testimony at times left the commissioners staring at him with pity, said that the happenings around the sale of Amcom businesses should serve as an eye-opener.”I don’t know whether we have a law regulating this process of alienating or privatising State assets …we have many loopholes in the current system and people easily enrich themselves in the process,” he cautioned.