Settlement reached in botched SSC CEO matter

CHARTERED accountant Koot van der Merwe and the Social Security Commission have reached a settlement shrouded in secrecy over a N$1,434 million law suit that Van der Merwe launched against the SSC over his derailed appointment as the SSC’s CEO in 2003.

High Court Judge Louis Muller early last week started hearing testimony in the legal action that Van der Merwe instituted against the SSC after alleged high-level political interference scuttled his appointment as CEO of the Commission. By Wednesday, though, when the Judge had already heard testimony from Van der Merwe, the two opponents had decided to settle the case out of court and have the case removed from the court roll.The SSC’s legal advisor, Enid Keramen, said on enquiry yesterday that the terms of the settlement would not be revealed.She said it had been agreed between the parties involved that the settlement would remain confidential.Van der Merwe was suing the SSC for a total of N$1,434 million, which he claimed was the amount of money that he lost when his appointment as CEO of the SSC went off the rails after he had already been informed that he would be getting the job.Of this amount, the main portion of N$827 225 was for earnings that Van der Merwe claimed he was losing, at a rate of N$165 445 a year, because the SSC job offer fell through.Due to this development, he claimed, he has had to forego the CEO’s pay package of N$928 277 a year, and instead had to settle for the mere N$762 832 a year that he is earning as NamPort’s General Manager: Finance.Van der Merwe also claimed a further N$500 000, which he said was a performance bonus that he lost out on at NamPort when he first accepted the SSC’s job offer – only to have to backtrack at his old job and accept a five-year renewal of his contract at NamPort.That was after media reports on political interference that was aimed against his appointment started suggesting that all was not well with his intended career move.According to Van der Merwe, the then Chairperson of the SSC board, Frans Kapofi, offered him the SSC CEO position at an annual pay package of N$928 277 – this works out to about N$77 356 a month – in early July 2003.Van der Merwe accepted the offer – but by early September became aware through the media that his appointment was reported to have become a topic of discussion as high up as State House, where then President Sam Nujoma reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the appointment of a non-Swapo member – and an Afrikaner to boot – to that job.Van der Merwe contacted Kapofi through his lawyer, Richard Metcalfe, asking for written confirmation of his appointment.Kapofi first responded in writing on September 30 2003, when he informed Van der Merwe that “this matter is very much on the agenda of the Commission”, and that Van der Merwe would be informed as soon as a definite conclusion on the matter was reached.Kapofi also stated that Van der Merwe did not necessarily learn from the press for the first time that the SSC might still be discussing its job offer to him.In terms of the initial agreement that Van der Merwe claimed to have had with the SSC, his five-year tenure as CEO was supposed to start on November 1 2003.Only on October 31 did he receive another letter from Kapofi, in which Kapofi for the first time confirmed in writing that the SSC still stood by its earlier decision on his appointment, and that he would have to report for duty on November 3 2003.Metcalfe responded to this by writing to Kapofi to inform him that after “two months of prevarication” from the SSC while Van der Merwe had been seeking clarity about his position, he had concluded that the SSC’s offer was not a genuine or serious offer, and that he could in those circumstances not see his way clear to working with the SSC board.The SSC’s defence to Van der Merwe’s claim for damages in the High Court was that it had never communicated to Van der Merwe or anyone else that the SSC no longer considered itself bound by the initial job offer to Van der Merwe and his acceptance of it.With that agreement having been concluded, it was also not necessary for the SSC to again confirm Van der Merwe’s appointment, the SSC pleaded.Meanwhile, Kapofi had also informed Metcalfe telephonically that all SSC board members were unanimous in their support for Van der Merwe’s appointment, but that there were National Union of Namibian Workers’ members who had expressed reservations about the suitability of Van der Merwe’s appointment, the SSC pleaded.With Van der Merwe having taken himself out of the equation, the SSC board went on to appoint Tuli Hiveluah as CEO of the SSC.Hiveluah did not quite last two years in the job.He resigned under a cloud last year, the threat of an impending disciplinary hearing hanging over him, after it emerged that he had approved and authorised the most notorious investment yet in the SSC’s history: the investment of N$30 million with an unproven and subsequently liquidated asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, in January last year.By Wednesday, though, when the Judge had already heard testimony from Van der Merwe, the two opponents had decided to settle the case out of court and have the case removed from the court roll.The SSC’s legal advisor, Enid Keramen, said on enquiry yesterday that the terms of the settlement would not be revealed. She said it had been agreed between the parties involved that the settlement would remain confidential.Van der Merwe was suing the SSC for a total of N$1,434 million, which he claimed was the amount of money that he lost when his appointment as CEO of the SSC went off the rails after he had already been informed that he would be getting the job.Of this amount, the main portion of N$827 225 was for earnings that Van der Merwe claimed he was losing, at a rate of N$165 445 a year, because the SSC job offer fell through.Due to this development, he claimed, he has had to forego the CEO’s pay package of N$928 277 a year, and instead had to settle for the mere N$762 832 a year that he is earning as NamPort’s General Manager: Finance.Van der Merwe also claimed a further N$500 000, which he said was a performance bonus that he lost out on at NamPort when he first accepted the SSC’s job offer – only to have to backtrack at his old job and accept a five-year renewal of his contract at NamPort.That was after media reports on political interference that was aimed against his appointment started suggesting that all was not well with his intended career move.According to Van der Merwe, the then Chairperson of the SSC board, Frans Kapofi, offered him the SSC CEO position at an annual pay package of N$928 277 – this works out to about N$77 356 a month – in early July 2003.Van der Merwe accepted the offer – but by early September became aware through the media that his appointment was reported to have become a topic of discussion as high up as State House, where then President Sam Nujoma reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the appointment of a non-Swapo member – and an Afrikaner to boot – to that job.Van der Merwe contacted Kapofi through his lawyer, Richard Metcalfe, asking for written confirmation of his appointment.Kapofi first responded in writing on September 30 2003, when he informed Van der Merwe that “this matter is very much on the agenda of the Commission”, and that Van der Merwe would be informed as soon as a definite conclusion on the matter was reached.Kapofi also stated that Van der Merwe did not necessarily learn from the press for the first time that the SSC might still be discussing its job offer to him.In terms of the initial agreement that Van der Merwe claimed to have had with the SSC, his five-year tenure as CEO was supposed to start on November 1 2003.Only on October 31 did he receive another letter from Kapofi, in which Kapofi for the first time confirmed in writing that the SSC still stood by its earlier decision on his appointment, and that he would have to report for duty on November 3 2003.Metcalfe responded to this by writing to Kapofi to inform him that after “two months of prevarication” from the SSC while Van der Merwe had been seeking clarity about his position, he had concluded that the SSC’s offer was not a genuine or serious offer, and that he could in those circumstances not see his way clear to working with the SSC board.The SSC’s defence to Van der Merwe’s claim for damages in the High Court was that it had never communicated to Van der Merwe or anyone else that the SSC no longer considered itself bound by the initial job offer to Van der Merwe and his acceptance of it.With that agreement having been concluded, it was also not necessary for the SSC to again confirm Van der Merwe’s appointment, the SSC pleaded.Meanwhile, Kapofi had also informed Metcalfe telephonically that all SSC board members were unanimous in their support for Van der Merwe’s appointment, but that there were National Union of Namibian Workers’ members who had expressed reservations about the suitability of Van der Merwe’s appointment, the SSC pleaded.With Van der Merwe having taken himself out of the equation, the SSC board went on to appoint Tuli Hiveluah as CEO of the SSC.Hiveluah did not quite last two years in the job.He resigned under a cloud last year, the threat of an impending disciplinary hearing hanging over him, after it emerged that he had approved and authorised the most notorious investment yet in the SSC’s history: the investment of N$30 million with an unproven and subsequently liquidated asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, in January last year.