NamPower fails to charge executives linked to N$8m equipment loss

Nampower managing director Simson Haulofu says no one has been held accountable for the disappearance of N$8 million worth of equipment at the company.

This is despite recommendations that two of the company’s top electricity executives should be charged with negligence.

A forensic investigation recommended that the parastatal should charge NamPower’s chief engineering assistant, Johan Hough, and its former executive of generation, Reiner Jagau, with negligence.

Jagau has left the company.

Neither Hough nor Jagau provided comment when approached by The Namibian.

An investigation report dated 20 November 2020 noted that equipment worth N$8 million, which was intended for the Ruacana power station, vanished between July 2018 and January 2019.

The equipment included 15 contact tubes and 15 guide tubes used in power station transformers.

Haulofu says NamPower has resigned from pursuing suspects.

“Following the investigation, a report was compiled and forwarded to relevant internal stakeholders. Please be advised that neither the NamPower security investigation report, nor the criminal investigation by the Namibian Police were able to identify any suspects directly involved with the removal of the equipment,” he says.

Haulofu says because there are no suspects, NamPower could not take action against anyone.

“It is on that basis that no disciplinary action has been taken against any employee within NamPower,” he says.

“However, to ensure that there is an adequate control environment in place, NamPower has put in place mitigation measures to safeguard all NamPower assets so that they are properly stored at all times, especially when projects are actively ongoing.”

THE PROBE

Haulofu earlier commissioned a forensic investigation into the loss of the equipment.

The investigation was conducted by Samantha Diergaardt, the parastatal’s former investigation officer, who is now the company’s industrial relations officer.

The investigation report detailed how the equipment was lost and how the power utility’s weak controls made it easy for “criminally minded” people to take advantage of this.

According to the report, the investigation was launched after reports of missing equipment in January 2019 from the Ruacana power station’s Switchgear building – where it was stored.

NamPower chief engineering assistant Hough reported the matter.

“According to Hough, he and his team, together with a consultant from Siemens Germany, had travelled to the Ruacana power station on 24 July 2018 to inspect the internal fault that had occurred on the generator transformer 2, 330kV circuit breaker,” the report states.

The equipment was ordered from Siemens Germany because the company manufactured the gas insulated switchgear at the power station.

“During the inspection, they (Hough and team) had gone to the Switchgear building, where the parts and spares were being kept, to determine what spares and parts are available for the required repairs,” the report reads.

During this period, two crates were found – one with six contact tubes, six guide tubes and 15 guides – while another crate had 15 contact tubes, 15 guide tubes and 15 guides, it says.

This brings the total to 21 contact tubes, 21 guide tubes and 21 guides available in stock for repairs.

Six months later, 15 contact tubes and 15 guide tubes were found missing. The value of the missing equipment at the time was around N$8 million.

The report says NamPower’s asset maintenance division ordered stock directly from suppliers without the involvement of the company stores.

At the time of the incident, the Ruacana gas insulated switchgear was supervised by Hough.

Hough took over in 1998 from Jagau – NamPower’s long-serving executive.

Jagau’s work with NamPower spanned four decades. He retired in August 2021.

“They had been responsible for ordering the necessary spares and parts required for proper stock count and handing over when Jagau was transferred from the section.

“There is, therefore, no record indicating how many contact tubes, guide tubes and guides were left at the time of Jagau’s departure,” the report notes.

“This failure to conduct a proper handing over of the spares and parts still available resulted in 18 guides being ordered by Hough in 2012/13 which would not have been necessary,” it states.

NEGLIGENCE

Diergaardt recommended that NamPower take disciplinary action against both Jagau and Hough.

“It is further recommended that disciplinary action be instituted against Jagau on a charge of contravening a section of the NamPower disciplinary code, and negligence in the execution of assigned duties in failing to ensure that a proper stock count and handing over is conducted,” the investigation report says.

The investigation also recommended that Hough be charged on two counts – one for “negligence in failing to ensure that a proper stock count and handing over is conducted”, and another “for gross negligence in the losses suffered by the parastatal”.

“Hough had at the time of becoming responsible for the Ruacana gas insulated switchgear failed to do a stock count so as to determine what material was available, what material was obsolete, and what material could be reused,” the report notes.

“All these failures clearly amount to gross negligence, resulting in the negligent loss of company property,” it says.

The report says NamPower’s asset maintenance division does not store materials in secure areas or do regular inspections.

“This has created the perfect opportunity for criminally minded individuals to intercept the material, as the person(s) knew that the missing material would not be discovered immediately, but only after some time, if ever, as no written records were being kept,” notes the report.

Diergaardt says she is not able to discuss the report.

“Please liaise with our public relations department. I am not at liberty to discuss anything with the media,” she says.

Sources claim no efforts have been made to charge Hough and Jagau in line with the recommendation of the investigation.

Hough has declined to comment on questions sent to him last week.

“I am sorry, due to company policies I am not in a position to comment,” he said.

After his departure from NamPower, Jagau went on to be a World Bank consultant.

“NamPower has provided you with an answer, and I have nothing to add. On my consultancy services, the World Bank is a client, but I am not consulting to NamPower,” he said.