AIR Namibia gave its former managing director Theo Namases a golden handshake that runs into millions despite an audit report that claims she had contravened the Anti-Corruption Act.
Namases was suspended last June and was charged with 17 counts of misconduct, nine of which were related to the Directorate of Civil Aviation among others, and she was never brought before a disciplinary hearing for more than a year.
Although Namases did not talk about the payout on Tuesday when The Namibian asked her about the audit report compiled by Deloitte Touche, she admitted in a press release yesterday that there was a settlement agreement but did not give a figure.
The Namibian understands though that she got a hefty sum of anything between N$3 million and N$3,7 million.
Air Namibia board spokesperson Tim Ekandjo refused to discuss the issue yesterday saying they will not entertain such questions any more.
Ekandjo could not say why they failed to bring Namases before a disciplinary hearing after they received the audit report, which found that she had contravened the Anti-Corruption Act and breached her employment contract.
He was also mum on why the company paid out Namases even when the audit report had proven that she had indeed a misconduct case to answer.
Namases however said she holds the board responsible for leaking the confidential audit report and their actions or inactions following the publication of the article in .
“I personally believe that whatever settlement is reached for me should be recouped from the board members concerned because not through their ineptness but through vengeance, personal vendettas and greed have they caused not only reputational damage to Air Namibia and myself but also serious financial losses for Air Namibia,” said Namases.
She denied seeing the forensic report despite having been suspended a charged ostensibly based on the findings and recommendations of that report.
“Following the recent settlement agreement with Air Namibia I was looking forward to closing this chapter and moving on with my life but clearly my adversaries have no intention to let this matter rest,” she said, adding that she has had to break the silence.
Namases said the investigation was supposed to be a focused one aspect, but it ended up being an investigation about almost everything at Air Namibia.
“The reason for this is simply ‘when those who initiated the investigation could not find fault with Theo Namases, the investigation had to be broadened in the misguided hope that they could find something against me’,” she said.
She further said some board members were being updated on information about the investigation, which she said was wrong and unethical and against the confidentiality that was promised to employees in exchange for speaking to the investigators.
“I am aware (because some colleagues freely discussed what they had submitted to the investigators) that there were allegations against specific board members which were placed before the investigators by the employees. It was alleged that a certain board member acted without authorisation and this resulted in financial losses to Air Namibia running into millions of dollars,” she wrote.
Regarding the charges laid against her, Namases said she requested for the particulars of the allegations against her but has not been provided these until now.
Namases also said if the Air Namibia board had any reason to believe that she is guilty, they had more than a year to convene a disciplinary hearing and let the legal process run its full course.
“This failure eloquently demonstrates the lack of substance in the allegations against me,” she said, querying why the board would reach a settlement agreement with her at the taxpayer’s expense.
She also asked why her case was never referred to the ACC for further investigations as recommended by the audit report and why they sat on the report without taking action for more than a year.
Since the case had dragged on for too long, Namases said, she decided to reach the settlement agreement with the board that had to pay her using taxpayers’ money.
“It is impossible for me to return to Air Namibia and work with the same board. Trust and respect and general goodwill had been destroyed between myself and my adversaries on the board. The working relationship will be difficult and this is neither in my interest nor in the interest of Air Namibia,” she said.
Namases categorically denied receiving or soliciting funds from Paragon to cover her mother’s funeral as stated in the audit report.
