Rundu CEO faces corruption charges

RUNDU Town Council chief executive Romanus Haironga has been slapped with 19 charges, including negligence, inflating tenders and abuse of power.

Haironga, who pleaded not guilty, was suspended in June last year to allow for an investigation that was done by law firm Kadhila Amoomo Legal Practitioners.

Haironga was, however, reinstated in May this year.

The law firm that was hired by the council is now tasked with charging Haironga for his role in questionable tenders worth over N$1,5 million. He was charged in May this year.

The charge sheet seen by shows that Haironga failed to protect the town council which has over the years been tainted with allegations of corruption, among them the awarding of tenders for which actual work was not done.

The Rundu Town Council paid a little-known company called Under-G Investment N$600 000 to design their new website but the work was never done, the charge sheet said.

reported in 2016 that the N$600 000 was considered expensive since other towns such as Grootfontein, Otjiwarongo and Arandis were charged around N$44 000 each for a similar job.

“You failed to ensure that the specific quotations for tenders in which council was defrauded were reported to the auditors,” the charge sheet said.

Another tender that was issued but never implemented is a N$300 000 contract to provide the town council with an SMS platform to communicate with its residents. Besides, reported that the town could have accessed the SMS bulk services directly from mobile firm MTC without a mediator.

“Tulirereni Transport and General Service CC were allocated a quotation tender for SMS management services worth N$300 000 which was never delivered,” the charge sheet said.

The other unfulfilled tender was N$288 600 contract that was given to CU Sales and Marketing CC for skip containers. This tender was never delivered, the charge sheet said.

Skip containers are used for garden refuse, building rubble and heavy refuse only which are different from the wheelie bins provided by the municipality.

The charge sheet states that Haironga failed to direct the heads of departments to provide feedback about these contracts and to initiate investigations to reflect any changes in their status.

“You failed, during the entirety of your tenure as CEO of the Rundu Town Council, to constantly monitor and perform a monthly review that identified problems as well as progress towards the achievement of the contracts,” the documents said.

Besides, Haironga failed to follow the rules with regards to obtaining quotations for tenders. The charge sheet states that the chief executive is supposed to get one quotation for orders up to N$3 000, three quotations for orders between N$3 000 and N$10 000 and three written quotations for orders between N$10 000 and N$50 000.

The charge sheet further stated that Haironga failed to exercise care to ensure reasonable protection of the assets and records of the council.

“During the entirety of your tenure as CEO, [you] failed to act with fidelity, honesty, integrity and in the best interests of the council in managing the financial affairs of the council,” the document said.

Furthermore, Haironga failed to take reasonable steps to ensure that the resources of the council are used effectively, efficiently, economically and transparently.

At the end of all the charges, it stated that at the disciplinary hearing, Haironga is entitled to call witnesses and to be represented by a fellow employee, union representative or legal representative of his choice or conduct his own defence throughout the hearing.

Haironga referred to his lawyers.

Samson Enkali, a lawyer at Kadhila Amoomo Legal Practitioners, told yesterday that the disciplinary hearing was supposed to take place on 10 July, but it could not proceed because two members of the committee were unavailable due to other commitments.

He said the hearing was postponed to a date yet to be determined.

News about the alleged mismanagement of funds at Rundu comes at the time Rundu residents have complained about poor services.

Daily water cuts have become a norm at the northern town which, as reported this year, owed NamWater N$60 million.

Haironga said he will not fight to stay on as he does not see any need to work with the council’s political leadership, who he says have made life difficult for him.

understands that if Haironga’s contract ends, it will be up to the employer, the Rundu Town Council, to continue with the disciplinary proceedings.

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