New twist in Avid-SSC case

THE Social Security Commission has vowed to fight a Labour Court challenge by its former general manager of finance, Avril Green, who was implicated in the Avid-SSC investment case.

In March, an internal disciplinary hearing found Green guilty of gross negligence and dereliction of duty for his role in transferring N$30 million in SSC funds to Avid Investment Corporation. He was dismissed with immediate effect.Green was reported to be involved in some of the earliest meetings when directors of Avid first approached the SSC with a proposal that it should channel investments through the company.According to Green, one of the things he was told at these meetings was that the Swapo Party Youth League had shares in Avid and that “a higher authority” had sent the directors to the SSC to solicit investments from it.The web of transactions and political intrigue surrounding the bungled investment gripped the nation as the details unfolded in the High Court in Windhoek last year.Among others it saw Swapo’s Paulus Kapia forced to quit as Deputy Minister of Works and give up his parliamentary seat, the resignation of SSC CEO Tuli Hiveluah, and the tragic shooting death of the man at the helm of Avid, Lazarus Kandara.And still the fall-out continues.Green’s lawyer, Richard Metcalfe, earlier served the SSC with court papers demanding his immediate reinstatement and the payment of his monthly salary of N$55 000, backdated to March this year.He also demanded that the company pay for all losses suffered while Green was dismissed and the legal costs incurred in defending his case.The Namibian has established that the company’s Board of Directors met last week to discuss the case and that the SSC’s lawyers have already filed a notice in the Labour Court to fight Green “tooth and nail”.Lawyer Nate Ndauendapo, who chaired Green’s disciplinary hearing, found him guilty on five of the six charges that he faced at a disciplinary hearing over his role in last year’s Avid investment scandal.The sixth count, Ndauendapo found, was in essence a duplication of one of the other charges.Green was the last of three SSC executives involved in a decision to invest N$30 million with the now liquidated Avid Investment Corporation to face internal disciplinary action.Gideon Mulder, who was the SSC’s Manager: Corporate Finance at the time of the investment deal, was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing in May last year.Tuli Hiveluah, the Chief Executive Officer of the SSC at the time, was suspended on August 10 last year and resigned in September.Green faced charges of gross negligence, gross insubordination, poor performance, two counts of dereliction of duty and function, and a charge of exceeding his powers and duties at his disciplinary hearing.He was found guilty on all of them except for the dereliction of duty counts, which Ndauendapo said overlapped with the charge of poor performance.The thrust of the charges against Green was that he failed to properly carry out his duties by first of all giving his approval to a decision to invest the N$30 million with Avid, and by not taking proper steps to put a stop to the investment later on, when he received information that cast serious doubts on Avid’s credentials as an investment handler.On January 21 last year, Green and Mulder co-signed a letter to Avid in which they informed the company that the SSC had decided to invest N$30 million through Avid for a four-month period, at an annual interest rate of 14,65 per cent.Green also directed a letter to the SSC’s bankers to instruct them to transfer the money to Avid – but he ordered that this letter should not be sent after he made enquiries with the Navachab Gold Mine, which had previously invested money through Avid, and was told that the financial guarantee for that investment that Avid had given to the mine was not accepted by any bank in Namibia.In the papers presented to the SSC last week, Green accused Ndauendapo of being “biased” in his disciplinary hearing.He claimed that his alleged misconduct was not properly investigated, that the company had refused to disclose vital information related to board meetings to him during the course of the disciplinary hearing, and treated employees differently by dismissing him while the CEO, Tuli Hiveluah, was not subjected to a hearing and was paid “a handsome monetary package when he resigned”.Green also claims that Ndauendapo failed to deal with several substantive arguments raised on his behalf during the hearing and merely ignored them Green alleged he was illegally dismissed by Ndauendapo, who was just supposed to make a recommendation to the SSC.In an answering affidavit filed with the Labour Court, the SSC said it was “proven on the balance of probabilities” that Green was guilty of the charges against him and that Ndauendapo applied the proper standard of proof in finding him guilty.”The respondent denies having treated its employees inconsistently and differently when it came to discipline for the same alleged misconduct,” the company said.The SSC submitted that CEO Hiveluah resigned and that the company was “in no position whatsoever” to compel him not to do so.Without disclosing Hiveluah’s exit package, the SSC denied paying him anything other than what he was entitled to.They want the case to be dismissed and asked the Labour Court to instruct Green to pay the legal costs of both parties.The case will be heard in the Windhoek District Labour Court on September 25.He was dismissed with immediate effect.Green was reported to be involved in some of the earliest meetings when directors of Avid first approached the SSC with a proposal that it should channel investments through the company.According to Green, one of the things he was told at these meetings was that the Swapo Party Youth League had shares in Avid and that “a higher authority” had sent the directors to the SSC to solicit investments from it.The web of transactions and political intrigue surrounding the bungled investment gripped the nation as the details unfolded in the High Court in Windhoek last year.Among others it saw Swapo’s Paulus Kapia forced to quit as Deputy Minister of Works and give up his parliamentary seat, the resignation of SSC CEO Tuli Hiveluah, and the tragic shooting death of the man at the helm of Avid, Lazarus Kandara.And still the fall-out continues.Green’s lawyer, Richard Metcalfe, earlier served the SSC with court papers demanding his immediate reinstatement and the payment of his monthly salary of N$55 000, backdated to March this year.He also demanded that the company pay for all losses suffered while Green was dismissed and the legal costs incurred in defending his case.The Namibian has established that the company’s Board of Directors met last week to discuss the case and that the SSC’s lawyers have already filed a notice in the Labour Court to fight Green “tooth and nail”.Lawyer Nate Ndauendapo, who chaired Green’s disciplinary hearing, found him guilty on five of the six charges that he faced at a disciplinary hearing over his role in last year’s Avid investment scandal.The sixth count, Ndauendapo found, was in essence a duplication of one of the other charges.Green was the last of three SSC executives involved in a decision to invest N$30 million with the now liquidated Avid Investment Corporation to face internal disciplinary action.Gideon Mulder, who was the SSC’s Manager: Corporate Finance at the time of the investment deal, was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing in May last year.Tuli Hiveluah, the Chief Executive Officer of the SSC at the time, was suspended on August 10 last year and resigned in September.Green faced charges of gross negligence, gross insubordination, poor performance, two counts of dereliction of duty and function, and a charge of exceeding his powers and duties at his disciplinary hearing.He was found guilty on all of them except for the dereliction of duty counts, which Ndauendapo said overlapped with the charge of poor performance.The thrust of the charges against Green was that he failed to properly carry out his duties by first of all giving hi
s approval to a decision to invest the N$30 million with Avid, and by not taking proper steps to put a stop to the investment later on, when he received information that cast serious doubts on Avid’s credentials as an investment handler.On January 21 last year, Green and Mulder co-signed a letter to Avid in which they informed the company that the SSC had decided to invest N$30 million through Avid for a four-month period, at an annual interest rate of 14,65 per cent.Green also directed a letter to the SSC’s bankers to instruct them to transfer the money to Avid – but he ordered that this letter should not be sent after he made enquiries with the Navachab Gold Mine, which had previously invested money through Avid, and was told that the financial guarantee for that investment that Avid had given to the mine was not accepted by any bank in Namibia.In the papers presented to the SSC last week, Green accused Ndauendapo of being “biased” in his disciplinary hearing.He claimed that his alleged misconduct was not properly investigated, that the company had refused to disclose vital information related to board meetings to him during the course of the disciplinary hearing, and treated employees differently by dismissing him while the CEO, Tuli Hiveluah, was not subjected to a hearing and was paid “a handsome monetary package when he resigned”.Green also claims that Ndauendapo failed to deal with several substantive arguments raised on his behalf during the hearing and merely ignored them Green alleged he was illegally dismissed by Ndauendapo, who was just supposed to make a recommendation to the SSC.In an answering affidavit filed with the Labour Court, the SSC said it was “proven on the balance of probabilities” that Green was guilty of the charges against him and that Ndauendapo applied the proper standard of proof in finding him guilty.”The respondent denies having treated its employees inconsistently and differently when it came to discipline for the same alleged misconduct,” the company said.The SSC submitted that CEO Hiveluah resigned and that the company was “in no position whatsoever” to compel him not to do so.Without disclosing Hiveluah’s exit package, the SSC denied paying him anything other than what he was entitled to.They want the case to be dismissed and asked the Labour Court to instruct Green to pay the legal costs of both parties.The case will be heard in the Windhoek District Labour Court on September 25.