No audit, no hearing for 4 NAC officials

THE disciplinary hearing into the behaviour of four Namibia Airports Company (NAC) officials, who have been suspended since last year, has been postponed once again after the company failed to provide their lawyers with a detailed audit.

The audit is intended to pinpoint the wrongful conduct alleged against the four. Towards the end of last July, the State-owned enterprise suspended four top executives in the finance, administration and information technology departments – among them General Manager Francis Liswaniso – following the discovery of a massive scam involving millions of dollars.The other three suspended executives are: Financial Accountant Sigfried Neumann; System Administrator Raimo Hasheela; and his assistant, Alfred Shaduka.Liswaniso’s hearing was supposed to start last week but the lawyers said they would boycott the process until the company handed over the audit.Initially, Siza Namandje, who represents Neumann, Hasheela and Shaduka, had agreed to attend the hearing set down for today but he reconsidered his position after the NAC failed to provide the audit statement.Namandje is believed also to be arguing that his clients were suspended only for the period it took to conduct the audit.The key suspect in the scandal was the company’s former management accountant, Simwanza Lilungwe, who committed suicide hours after the massive fraud was uncovered.The company originally maintained that the four officials were not accused of any crime but only sent on “forced leave” to ensure the investigation was “independent, unhindered and free”.They were later charged, but their disciplinary hearing had to be postponed on three occasions as they demanded to see the report beforehand, which the NAC appeared reluctant to release.It is unclear why.According to one source who has spoken to The Namibian, a prominent company representative has said there is actually no audited report; another source says there is one, but it would not hold water if challenged before a disciplinary hearing.NAC Chairman John Akwenye has indicated he will comment on Friday on the reasons behind the failure to divulge the audit.The NAC has remained tight-lipped on the exact charges brought against the four officials amid claims that most of the accusations have nothing to do with the alleged scam.The Namibian has learnt that Liswaniso and Neumann were in fact charged with refusing to give their CEO bank statements and with failing to implement an asset register.Towards the end of last July, the State-owned enterprise suspended four top executives in the finance, administration and information technology departments – among them General Manager Francis Liswaniso – following the discovery of a massive scam involving millions of dollars. The other three suspended executives are: Financial Accountant Sigfried Neumann; System Administrator Raimo Hasheela; and his assistant, Alfred Shaduka. Liswaniso’s hearing was supposed to start last week but the lawyers said they would boycott the process until the company handed over the audit. Initially, Siza Namandje, who represents Neumann, Hasheela and Shaduka, had agreed to attend the hearing set down for today but he reconsidered his position after the NAC failed to provide the audit statement. Namandje is believed also to be arguing that his clients were suspended only for the period it took to conduct the audit. The key suspect in the scandal was the company’s former management accountant, Simwanza Lilungwe, who committed suicide hours after the massive fraud was uncovered. The company originally maintained that the four officials were not accused of any crime but only sent on “forced leave” to ensure the investigation was “independent, unhindered and free”. They were later charged, but their disciplinary hearing had to be postponed on three occasions as they demanded to see the report beforehand, which the NAC appeared reluctant to release. It is unclear why. According to one source who has spoken to The Namibian, a prominent company representative has said there is actually no audited report; another source says there is one, but it would not hold water if challenged before a disciplinary hearing. NAC Chairman John Akwenye has indicated he will comment on Friday on the reasons behind the failure to divulge the audit. The NAC has remained tight-lipped on the exact charges brought against the four officials amid claims that most of the accusations have nothing to do with the alleged scam. The Namibian has learnt that Liswaniso and Neumann were in fact charged with refusing to give their CEO bank statements and with failing to implement an asset register.