Govt staff paid as ‘suppliers’ at justice ministry

A GOVERNMENT report says action should be taken against officials who approved the transfer of state funds – meant for suppliers – to be paid into the personal bank accounts of staff members at the Ministry of Justice.

This is contained in an October 2020 draft investigation report by auditors at the Ministry of Finance.

The probe was triggered by a report in in 2019, which revealed that around N$1,3 million was allegedly paid into civil servants’ personal accounts as if they supplied goods or provided services to the government.

The report, implicating seven officials, warned that the current government payment system, the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), was vulnerable to abuse.

The report shows N$3,8 million was paid to the seven individuals in recent years.

According to the report “action must be taken” against the officials who approved the payments in question.

It stated that the employees’ personal bank accounts were used to receive state money on behalf of suppliers.

“It is illegal to pay state funds meant for suppliers into the employees’ personal bank accounts,” the report reads.

Most of the alleged beneficiaries denied any wrongdoing.

Among others, N$11 200 was allegedly transferred to the Standard Bank account of Gladice Pickering, executive director of justice, between June 2018 and March 2020.

There was no explanation for this amount as it had no supporting documents.

Pickering yesterday said the N$11 200 was a refund paid to her by the government. She said she paid for “plane tickets” and asked the government for a refund. This refund method is used by all government agencies, Pickering said.

“Many government officials are loaded on the system as suppliers for such refunds,” she said.

Some officials were paid more.

This includes the ministry’s chief human resources officer, Elifas Nghifihapo, who was paid N$467 000 in 2019.

According to the report, part of that amount was then distributed as follows: N$257 600 was transferred from Nghifihapo’s account to Balanced Scorecard Solution (BSS), an international company from which the ministry allegedly purchased a management performance system.

Around N$100 700 of the amount financed a training course in Johannesburg, which took place from 24 to 28 June 2018.

Marian Groenemeyer, the ministry’s director of administration, allegedly received N$313 600 in her bank account.

Around N$258 900 of this amount was also transferred to BSS.

“No explanation was provided as to why the funds were paid into her bank account,” the report states.

The investigation found that the former senior chief accountant at the justice ministry, Jeremiah Baisako, created a supplier code on 31 March 2012 under ‘Walvis Bay municipality’, linking it to his personal First National Bank bank account into which he paid N$2 million.

Baisako resigned from the ministry following his arrest in 2019.

He later appeared in court over N$300 000 he allegedly channelled to his personal bank account.

Baisako registered a company called Habasen Enterprises CC on 13 September 2012, which subsequently received N$795 500 from the same scheme.

Around N$583 000 was transferred to two bank accounts belonging to Danny van Rooyen, the ministry’s former chief training officer.

The investigation report also singled out a N$434 000 payment to a company called Queen Mwetako Investment CC.

The company is owned by an employee of the ministry identified as ‘Ms Mwetako’.

“No supporting documents were provided to determine the authenticity of the payments,” the report said.