PRESIDENT Hage Geingob is waiting for a report and advice on whether to entertain demands by former National Housing Enterprise chief executive officer Vinson Hailulu for compensation for being accused of irregularities and corruption in the N$3 billion mass housing programme.
Hailulu led the housing parastatal from 2005 to 2016, but his last term at the firm was marred by widespread allegations of corruption and irregularities on how he implemented the mass housing programme, which was initially seen as a solution to Namibia’s housing troubles.
Hailulu wrote to Geingob in April last year, two months before he left the NHE, asking the President for help.
He wants government to pay him an unspecified amount to “repair” the damage caused by allegations that he corruptly implemented the N$3 billion mass housing programme.
Hailulu declined to comment last week, but State House spokesperson Albertus Aochamub confirmed that the President is waiting for a report on this matter.
He said the issue was referred to urban development minister Sophia Shaningwa, who then consulted the attorney general.
“The minister engaged the (NHE) board of directors, and will shortly brief the attorney general and the minister of presidential affairs on the findings,” he said.
Aochamub said the matter is complicated “but, in the fullness of time, the author will receive his response from the relevant line minister and the board of directors”.
Hailulu’s exit from the NHE was pushed by Shaningwa, who directed the NHE board last year not to renew his contract when it ended in August 2016.
People familiar with the issue said Geingob did not want to be dragged into the matter.
obtained the letter from a source in the urban development ministry.
Hailulu pleaded innocence regarding the mass housing programme in his letter to Geingob, including claims that the NHE negligently accepted inflated tender prices, and that the houses were expensive.
Another allegation, according to Hailulu, was that he “received a bribe from the contractors with which I allegedly bought a GL500 Mercedes SUV cash, and that I allocated tenders to my relatives and family members corruptly”.
According to a report in the New Era newspaper in 2014, the vehicle in question was worth N$1,5 million.
“The above allegations led to the loss of trust and confidence in me and the NHE, and led to the suspension of the mass housing project,” he stated.
Geingob announced in 2015 that government had stopped the mass housing programme due to several irregularities.
Hailulu told the President in his letter that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had carried out two investigations.
One of the ACC’s probes, he said, was to establish “the truth of allegations regarding the buying of my car with bribery money, and the other one regarding the awarding of tenders to my family”.
ACC director general Paulus Noa, accused of turning a blind eye on allegations of corruption involving high-profile individuals, cleared Hailulu in 2014.
Although the ACC cleared him, the report by Jordaan Oosthuysen Nangolo quantity surveyors found that the houses under the programme were poorly constructed, the prices were inflated, contractors lacked performance contracts, and also experienced massive delays.
“Following the outcome of the investigation by the quantity surveyors and the Anti-Corruption Commission, it was my humble expectation for the government to vindicate my name and help repair the damage severely inflicted on my character and professional integrity as a result of these unfounded allegations,” he said.
Hailulu added that the allegations injured his integrity to the extent that his chances of renewing his contract as the NHE chief executive were reduced to zero.
The NHE, he also said, denied him the performance bonus for 2014/2015 after Shaningwa instructed the board not to pay him.
Hailulu said he appealed against Shaningwa’s decision.
“I continue to struggle to get a job, yet I have to put food on the table to feed my family,” he said.
Hailulu said he can sue government, but wanted the President to first intervene in this matter.
Hailulu asked Geingob to look at how he can be compensated for the mass housing allegations.
“I am humbly requesting your good office to look into my plight and that of my young family, and consider awarding me a reasonable compensation to put this matter to bed,” he said.
People familiar with this matter said Hailulu’s letter is another example of claiming entitlement and playing the victim by a former official, who wants to be paid for being implicated in irregular deals.
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