Youth League committee to probe Kapia, Blaauw’s Avid involvement

THE Swapo Party Youth League yesterday confirmed that SPYL Secretary Paulus Kapia has been “put on leave from his duties as SPYL Secretary” in terms of a decision taken at a meeting of its Central Committee in Windhoek on Saturday.

The SPYL Central Committee also decided that both Kapia and fellow SPYL Central Committee member Ralph Blaauw would be “recused from all SPYL activities” with effect from yesterday, SPYL Secretary for Information, Publicity and Mobilisation Elijah Ngurare announced at a media briefing. While Ngurare was at pains to state repeatedly that the Central Committee had mandated him to inform the media only that Kapia had been “put on leave” and that he and Blaauw had been “recused” from SPYL activities for the next month at least – pointedly with no official mention of a suspension – it was apparent that in meaning, if not in name, the Central Committee’s action amounted to a suspension.A recusal is an action that is normally only found in a judicial context, where it would refer to a judge’s decision not to hear a certain case because of a potential conflict of interest.While stating that he was deliberately distancing himself from using the word “suspension”, because of the nature of the mandate he had received from the Central Committee, Ngurare also stated that the term “put on leave” was being used to indicate that this action had been the result of a decision from the Youth League structure, and was not something requested from Kapia’s side.The decision was taken after the Central Committee heard presentations from Kapia and Blaauw on their involvement in Avid, “especially as it relates to the undue prominence the SPYL received from the so-called Avid saga”, Ngurare said.He said Kapia would be on leave from his post as SPYL Secretary and would be recused from SPYL activities for a month, with a further extension possible, pending the outcome of a probe to be conducted by an investigation committee of the SPYL that the Central Committee also chose on Saturday.The five-member investigation committee will report its findings to the SPYL National Executive Committee.The investigation committee is being chaired by Pohamba Shifeta, the Deputy Minister of Youth, National Youth Service, Sport and Culture, who was Blaauw’s predecessor as National Youth Council Secretary General.The investigation committee will have to determine what procedures, if any, were followed in linking the Youth League with Avid, and whether the names of the League and the Swapo Party President were used in exerting pressure on the SSC to approve the N$30 million investment with Avid, Ngurare said.Kapia’s deputy as SPYL Secretary, Eveline !Nawases, would act in the position, Ngurare added.The SPYL Central Committee’s move follows close to two months of gradually ballooning claims of and revelations about Kapia’s, Blaauw’s and allegedly also the Youth League’s involvement in Avid, an inexperienced registered asset management company that scooped a N$30 million investment from the SSC in January.Avid’s inability to repay the investment in late May has sparked Namibia’s most politically tinged financial scandal in years.Kapia was a director of Avid from April last year until his resignation from the company’s board on March 20.He was involved in meetings with the SSC at a stage when Avid was still trying to convince the SSC to invest money with it.Blaauw was not a director of Avid.His wife was, but acted in her husband’s stead, Avid’s creator and Chief Executive Officer, the late Lazarus Kandara, has claimed in evidence that he gave in a Companies Act inquiry in the High Court.Blaauw also acted as the link between himself and Kapia, and it was from Blaauw that a suggestion came that the SPYL should be made a shareholder in Avid, Kandara told the court before his alleged suicide.Kapia has also given evidence in the High Court inquiry.After he initially appeared to try to distance himself from Kandara, claiming that he hardly knew Kandara, Kapia made what Ngurare yesterday referred to as “that famous U-turn”, to admit that he and Kandara had had substantially more contact with each other than he had initially tried to portray to the court.Kandara and his wife, Christophine Kandara, also claimed in court that Blaauw collected money from Kandara’s house in Windhoek not only for himself but also money meant for Kapia.Blaauw was also to have received another N$40 000 from him thereafter, Kandara claimed.He told the court that this money was actually not related to the Avid-SSC investment, but emanated from an earlier investment that the company had done for the Navachab gold mine.Blaauw’s name also featured in two sworn statements from the SSC’s General Manager: Finance and Administration, Avril Green, that have been filed with the High Court.Green was suspended as a result of the Avid deal.He claimed in his most recent affidavit that Blaauw had approached him at the SSC to lobby for an investment to be placed with Avid.In the process, said Green, Blaauw claimed that the Swapo Youth League had a major stake in Avid, as did the then President of Namibia – something that former President Sam Nujoma has since denied.While Ngurare was at pains to state repeatedly that the Central Committee had mandated him to inform the media only that Kapia had been “put on leave” and that he and Blaauw had been “recused” from SPYL activities for the next month at least – pointedly with no official mention of a suspension – it was apparent that in meaning, if not in name, the Central Committee’s action amounted to a suspension.A recusal is an action that is normally only found in a judicial context, where it would refer to a judge’s decision not to hear a certain case because of a potential conflict of interest.While stating that he was deliberately distancing himself from using the word “suspension”, because of the nature of the mandate he had received from the Central Committee, Ngurare also stated that the term “put on leave” was being used to indicate that this action had been the result of a decision from the Youth League structure, and was not something requested from Kapia’s side.The decision was taken after the Central Committee heard presentations from Kapia and Blaauw on their involvement in Avid, “especially as it relates to the undue prominence the SPYL received from the so-called Avid saga”, Ngurare said.He said Kapia would be on leave from his post as SPYL Secretary and would be recused from SPYL activities for a month, with a further extension possible, pending the outcome of a probe to be conducted by an investigation committee of the SPYL that the Central Committee also chose on Saturday.The five-member investigation committee will report its findings to the SPYL National Executive Committee.The investigation committee is being chaired by Pohamba Shifeta, the Deputy Minister of Youth, National Youth Service, Sport and Culture, who was Blaauw’s predecessor as National Youth Council Secretary General.The investigation committee will have to determine what procedures, if any, were followed in linking the Youth League with Avid, and whether the names of the League and the Swapo Party President were used in exerting pressure on the SSC to approve the N$30 million investment with Avid, Ngurare said.Kapia’s deputy as SPYL Secretary, Eveline !Nawases, would act in the position, Ngurare added.The SPYL Central Committee’s move follows close to two months of gradually ballooning claims of and revelations about Kapia’s, Blaauw’s and allegedly also the Youth League’s involvement in Avid, an inexperienced registered asset management company that scooped a N$30 million investment from the SSC in January.Avid’s inability to repay the investment in late May has sparked Namibia’s most politically tinged financial scandal in years.Kapia was a director of Avid from April last year until his resignation from the company’s board on March 20.He was involved in meetings with the SSC at a stage when Avid was still trying to convince the SSC to invest money with it.Blaauw was not a director of Avid.His wife was, but acted in her husband
‘s stead, Avid’s creator and Chief Executive Officer, the late Lazarus Kandara, has claimed in evidence that he gave in a Companies Act inquiry in the High Court.Blaauw also acted as the link between himself and Kapia, and it was from Blaauw that a suggestion came that the SPYL should be made a shareholder in Avid, Kandara told the court before his alleged suicide.Kapia has also given evidence in the High Court inquiry.After he initially appeared to try to distance himself from Kandara, claiming that he hardly knew Kandara, Kapia made what Ngurare yesterday referred to as “that famous U-turn”, to admit that he and Kandara had had substantially more contact with each other than he had initially tried to portray to the court.Kandara and his wife, Christophine Kandara, also claimed in court that Blaauw collected money from Kandara’s house in Windhoek not only for himself but also money meant for Kapia.Blaauw was also to have received another N$40 000 from him thereafter, Kandara claimed.He told the court that this money was actually not related to the Avid-SSC investment, but emanated from an earlier investment that the company had done for the Navachab gold mine.Blaauw’s name also featured in two sworn statements from the SSC’s General Manager: Finance and Administration, Avril Green, that have been filed with the High Court.Green was suspended as a result of the Avid deal.He claimed in his most recent affidavit that Blaauw had approached him at the SSC to lobby for an investment to be placed with Avid.In the process, said Green, Blaauw claimed that the Swapo Youth League had a major stake in Avid, as did the then President of Namibia – something that former President Sam Nujoma has since denied.