NDC cleans up balance sheets

THE Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) appears set to live up to its promise that the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) will take over a profit-making institution.

According to the latest report of Auditor General Etuna Kandjeke for the year ending March 2003, the NDC recorded a profit of N$37,9 million in 2003 after posting whopping losses of N$88,8 million the previous year. By last year, the NDC, Government’s business development funding agency, had already claimed that it would have made a profit in 2002 had it not been for Amalgamated Commercial Holdings (Amcom), a subsidiary that was liquidated.Amcom was closed down following a Cabinet resolution.The NDC had argued that it had become a burden, though its Managing Director at the time, Ben Siyambango, maintained that Amcom was making a profit.By 1999, the NDC was the one believed to be making huge losses.But there seems to have been a reversal.Sources in the corporation said the previous management had been lax when making loans, extending credit to relatives for bogus business projects and to political cronies whose chances of success with their business proposals were doubtful from the outset.Kandjeke’s latest report bears out NDC Chief Executive Officer Abdool Sataar Aboobakar’s assertion that the Development Bank would be “taking over a company that is making money and has qualified people”.The NDC has now merged with the Development Fund of Namibia to form the DBN, which was launched last week.While the Auditor General has raised concerns about the administration of the NDC in previous audit statements, the latest report praises the corporation.”The drastic decline in the provision for bad debts is a clear indication of management’s commitment to secure the assets of the corporation by implementing more aggressive controls to recover outstanding loans and rental debts,” Auditor General Kandjeke says in the report.Elsewhere, the report notes:”The magnitude of provisions in previous years in respect of loans advanced, highlighted serious concerns on the internal control over the assets of the corporation.However, over the current financial year, management made serious attempts to either recover or stop the loss of any further money.”But it is not all a bed of roses.In giving his “qualified audit opinion”, Kandjeke says the auditors were unable to verify “all the corporation’s opening balances as stated at 31 March 2002”, and that misstatements of those figures would affect the results for March 2003.”The auditors could not obtain sufficient audit evidence to satisfy themselves as to the completeness of [Amcom] accounts payable balance, the completeness of the corporation’s special funds and the completeness and disclosure of interest bearing borrowing balances as at 31 March 2003.”The corporation’s records did not permit any alternative audit procedures to be performed.”By last year, the NDC, Government’s business development funding agency, had already claimed that it would have made a profit in 2002 had it not been for Amalgamated Commercial Holdings (Amcom), a subsidiary that was liquidated.Amcom was closed down following a Cabinet resolution.The NDC had argued that it had become a burden, though its Managing Director at the time, Ben Siyambango, maintained that Amcom was making a profit.By 1999, the NDC was the one believed to be making huge losses.But there seems to have been a reversal.Sources in the corporation said the previous management had been lax when making loans, extending credit to relatives for bogus business projects and to political cronies whose chances of success with their business proposals were doubtful from the outset.Kandjeke’s latest report bears out NDC Chief Executive Officer Abdool Sataar Aboobakar’s assertion that the Development Bank would be “taking over a company that is making money and has qualified people”.The NDC has now merged with the Development Fund of Namibia to form the DBN, which was launched last week.While the Auditor General has raised concerns about the administration of the NDC in previous audit statements, the latest report praises the corporation.”The drastic decline in the provision for bad debts is a clear indication of management’s commitment to secure the assets of the corporation by implementing more aggressive controls to recover outstanding loans and rental debts,” Auditor General Kandjeke says in the report.Elsewhere, the report notes:”The magnitude of provisions in previous years in respect of loans advanced, highlighted serious concerns on the internal control over the assets of the corporation.However, over the current financial year, management made serious attempts to either recover or stop the loss of any further money.”But it is not all a bed of roses.In giving his “qualified audit opinion”, Kandjeke says the auditors were unable to verify “all the corporation’s opening balances as stated at 31 March 2002″, and that misstatements of those figures would affect the results for March 2003.”The auditors could not obtain sufficient audit evidence to satisfy themselves as to the completeness of [Amcom] accounts payable balance, the completeness of the corporation’s special funds and the completeness and disclosure of interest bearing borrowing balances as at 31 March 2003.”The corporation’s records did not permit any alternative audit procedures to be performed.”