Swakop pulls plug on Kambueshe’s N$29m property deals

THE Swakopmund municipal council on Thursday recommended to cancel five property purchase transactions worth over N$29 million it made with former Swakopmund constituency councillor Juuso Kambueshe.

Council management committee chairperson Wilfried Groenewald said several attempts have been made since 2018 to have an audience with Kambueshe about the transactions but these did not materialise, either being delayed and then set aside due to Covid-19 lockdown regulations, or allegedly ignored.

Groenewald said Kambueshe eventually met the corporate services manager last month to provide a progress report and seek clarity on the way forward.

Kambueshe apparently said a consulting entity would be created this month to finance and manage the various transactions, and that only after this would he be able to commit to securing payments for the various transactions, according to Groenewald.

This involves four erfs – 8929, 8930, 8939 and 4874 – with a total purchase value of N$13 950 998.97, and accumulated interest (till 31 January 2021) of N$4 394 298.72, bringing the total to

N$18 345 297,69. “The outstanding amount does not address rates and taxes on site and improvements as well as consumption of services that council could not levy,” said Groenewald.

The fifth erf (4899 of ‘Erf Two Eight Two Seven Swakopmund CC’) was allocated by private treaty in November 2015 for about N$10,8 million.

The total income lost on the five transactions over the past three years exceeds N$29 million.

Groenewald said except for erf 4899, various next qualifying bidders are listed for application of the erven, and that council had made a commitment to consider the next qualifying bidders should the current purchaser not perform in terms of the conditions of the sale.

Council recommended that four of the transactions be cancelled as the transaction for erf 4899 which lapsed in December 2018 as there was no deed of sale signed by the purchaser.

The council recommended that the latter be offered for sale by a closed bid together with other available business and industrial erven.

Approached for comment, Kambueshe told The Namibian that the submission to council “does not include material information”.

“I have requested council for an addendum to the current deed of sale in order for me to pay the outstanding amount which is definitely not the stipulated amount.

You will appreciate that the information in the agenda is not consistent with the facts.

I do not wish to address the discrepancies via the media,” he said. He said that the development on erf 4899 is on the market and is allegedly worth N$200 million.

“Council will be a beneficiary of all that’s due to the municipal council of Swakopmund. We are highly excited with the development and looking forward to its existence soon,” he said.

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