Minister ‘interferes’ with RFA board

DUST is refusing to settle around the Road Fund Administration, with the situation turning into a tug-of-war between Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and the RFA board of directors over the suspension of the parastatal’s chief executive officer, Penda Kiiyala.

Kuugongelwa-Amadhila is accused of undermining the board and allegedly trying to protect Kiiyala at all costs. The allegations were made after it came to light that Kuugongelwa-Amadhila on Tuesday wrote a letter to the board instructing them to stop the pending disciplinary proceedings against Kiiyala, the company’s fund manager, Desmond Basson, and an accountant, Talaska Katjiruru. The three were suspended on May 20 following the publication of a report by Insight Magazine about alleged administrative irregularities at the parastatal. The Namibian is informed that Kuugongelwa-Amadhila instructed the board in the Tuesday letter to abort plans to haul the four before a disciplinary hearing.The minister has been accused of hiding behind a Cabinet decision to allow the Auditor General to carry out an investigation into allegations of maladministration at the RFA. She is also said to have reminded the board that the Government is above them.Kuugongelwa-Amadhila flatly denied allegations that she is personally interfering with the process, saying she is acting on Cabinet’s instruction. ‘I only told them to comply with Government’s instructions,’ she said, adding that as the shareholder, Government, through Cabinet, wanted ‘full and complete information’ before taking any action. ‘We want to do it ourselves,’ she said, emphasising that Cabinet decided on its own investigation to be conducted by the Auditor General, since the information presented to it by the RFA board was insufficient. Kuuongelwa Amadhila added that it is due to incomplete information that the RFA board also instructed auditing firm Deloite to investigate. ‘The President has already written an appointment letter to the Auditor General to start with the investigations,’ she said. RFA board chairperson Angeline Simana-Paulo could only say that the board ‘is set to meet to discuss the matter,’ when called for comment yesterday.But sources in the know said the RFA board is adamant that it made the correct decision and was well within its rights to suspend the CEO, Kiiyala. Cabinet discussed the RFA matter the week after Kiiyala was suspended. Kuugongelwa-Amadhila then wrote to the board stating that Government decided that the Auditor General will be instructed to carry out an investigation into the affairs of the RFA. The letter further stated that it will also be up to the AG to decide who should be suspended. The board did not comply with the instructions, allegedly stating that it was exercising its fiduciary duties towards the company. It has now emerged that Kiiyala, who was supposed to appear before a disciplinary hearing on Monday, will only do so tomorrow due to a technical glitch, while Basson and Katjiruru are set to appear today. The Namibian has also learned that most of the charges against Kiiyala are related to him allegedly overstepping his powers and making decisions without consulting the board. One of the charges is said to involve a sum of N$80 million that he allegedly approved for a project although he was not allowed to do so without the board’s consent. In the meantime, sources in the know say that the relationship between the board and Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, who is the appointing authority, has broken down. Kiiyala, Basson and Katjiruru were suspended amid irregularities concerning the collection of cross-border charges (CBCs) by Iroko Investments on behalf of the RFA. The other reason is said to be human resources-related, although the details have not been revealed.
* Tileni Mongudhi is a freelance journalist; tileni@insight.com.na