VIP bills ‘not a public matter’

AS the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) continues to probe allegations of favouritism at the City of Windhoek with regard to credit control, the City is refusing to say whether it has taken any action against a number of high-ranking Government officials, who owe it more than N$500 000.

Not only has it warned employees against leaking information to the media, but City officials say its policy is one of “confidentiality”. The news that officials including Trade Minister Hage Geingob and Mayor Matthew Shikongo were among some of the City’s debtors with the highest outstanding amounts sparked outrage among ordinary people when it was first reported in a local weekly in May.Residents were especially angry because the municipality often suspends the services of defaulters and even evicts them and auctions off their homes.Only one of the several officials mentioned in the various news articles that followed, Mines Deputy Minister Bernard Esau, publicly challenged the information leaked about his account.Esau argued that there had been an error with his account, which saw it jump from zero the one month to N$32 940 the next, and that he was trying to find out how this had happened when the report implicating him was published.When questioned this week about this and the other bills in question, City of Windhoek Head of Public Relations Ndangi Katoma said this information would be treated confidentially.Regarding the investigation into Esau’s account specifically, he said that the City’s investigation had been completed and that the deputy minister had been contacted about it.”As you know, however, the City deals with all its clients in line with our credit control policy,” Katoma said, adding that this policy was based on confidentiality.It has also come to light that the City issued an internal memo to employees last week, in which CEO Niilo Taapopi warned against the leaking of information to the press – something he said made the provider of the information guilty of a breach of contract.The news that officials including Trade Minister Hage Geingob and Mayor Matthew Shikongo were among some of the City’s debtors with the highest outstanding amounts sparked outrage among ordinary people when it was first reported in a local weekly in May.Residents were especially angry because the municipality often suspends the services of defaulters and even evicts them and auctions off their homes. Only one of the several officials mentioned in the various news articles that followed, Mines Deputy Minister Bernard Esau, publicly challenged the information leaked about his account.Esau argued that there had been an error with his account, which saw it jump from zero the one month to N$32 940 the next, and that he was trying to find out how this had happened when the report implicating him was published.When questioned this week about this and the other bills in question, City of Windhoek Head of Public Relations Ndangi Katoma said this information would be treated confidentially.Regarding the investigation into Esau’s account specifically, he said that the City’s investigation had been completed and that the deputy minister had been contacted about it.”As you know, however, the City deals with all its clients in line with our credit control policy,” Katoma said, adding that this policy was based on confidentiality.It has also come to light that the City issued an internal memo to employees last week, in which CEO Niilo Taapopi warned against the leaking of information to the press – something he said made the provider of the information guilty of a breach of contract.