Locked out in Paris

… Govt abandons Namibian paralympic officials in France

The government has allegedly turned its back on six members of Namibia’s Paralympic team, who are stranded in France after the Paris Paralympic Games.

This was confirmed by Namibia National Paralympic Committee (NNPC) president Johannes Litwayi.

The group includes athlete Petrus Karuli, team officials Agnes Hausiku and Suzet Guims, attaché Tangi le Guennec, NNPC secretary general Michael Hamukwaya and Litwayi himself.

They are expected to check out of their hotel today.

The group appears to be victims of an ongoing power struggle in the NNPC ranks, with one faction allegedly backed by the executive director of sport, youth and national service, Erastus Haitengela.

Yesterday, Litwayi accused Haitengela of withholding funding for the Namibian team and that he was forced to use his own funds to pay for the accommodation of minister of sport, youth and national service Agnes Tjongarero in Paris to cover the shortfall.

Haitengela strongly refuted the allegation, saying Litwayi was being “economical” with the facts.

The NNPC got funds from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the government for their expenses, Haitengela said.

Litwayi said that upon arrival in Paris they discovered that his lodging and that of Hamukwaya were inexplicably cancelled.

Additionally, the sport ministry only covered Tjongarero’s accommodation from 27 August to 2 September, despite her stay being extended to 4 September.

“It is also important to note that the six-member delegation that travelled from Windhoek to Paris will be left out without accommodation, while the team under management of chief sport officer [Letu Hamhola] should return home without any suffering,” Litwayi said in a statement.

“I covered the additional two days for the minister’s stay from my personal funds due to the lack of contingency funds. Furthermore, I personally financed four nights of my accommodation.

“Despite submitting invoices and proof of payment to the executive director’s office, there has been no response.”

Litwayi also claims that Haitengela is working with suspended NNPC treasurer JP Schmidt, who is under investigation for alleged irregularities within the body.

Schmidt is said to be coordinating a committee established to welcome the team back home.

The delegation, which includes Lahja Ishitile, who won Namibia’s only medals, is unaffected by the ongoing feud and is expected back in the country today.

“Despite our best efforts to resolve these matters through official channels, we have encountered persistent challenges,” Litwayi said.

Haitengela said the ministry advanced N$390 000 towards the team’s accommodation for the Games, inclusive of Tjongarero and her personal assistant, on 24 August.

Additionally, a contingency fund is available to the remaining team members should they need it.

However, the NNPC would have to prove it has no money of its own to access emergency funds.

“They got pocket money, plus we paid for their accommodation and for their tickets. That’s why I’m saying they’re double-dipping,” Haitengela fired back.

“Normally, the IPC gives them money for the tickets, because the IPC has discovered that some of the athletes from their country do not have money to travel.

“Because of this issue we had with them and their treasurer, the ministry was not keen on putting money into their accounts, because we discovered a lot of anomalies there,” he continued.

“And then, at the last minute, because they were pushing us, that’s what we did. We paid that money for accommodation for the minister, for the personal assistant and for me if I was going, because the minister was supposed to come back and I was supposed to go on the second leg, the final leg.”

Haitengela challenged Litwayi to declare how much the NNPC got from the IPC.

“They got money from the IPC. You know, these people, they think we don’t know,” Haitengela charged.

“They want us to pay them twice the amount we already paid them. The money is in their account and they are already getting money from the IPC.

“We said: ‘Mr Litwayi, we want you to produce invoices when you come back so that you can do a reconciliation. If we owe you, we pay you. If we don’t owe you, you must pay us back.’ So, that’s really the issue.”

Furthermore, the NNPC president accused Haitengela of undermining their authority by making use of Schmidt’s services despite the latter’s suspension.

“This situation is further complicated by concerns that decisions regarding Parasports are being heavily influenced by Schmidt and chief sport officer Hamhola, which appears to undermine the NNPC board,” Litwayi stressed.

“This undermining compromises the effectiveness and fairness of our operations and decisions. The ministry has assembled a committee to welcome the athletes from Paris and this committee, we are informed, Jean Paul Schmidt as part of.

“We do not understand in what portfolio as he is suspended by the national federation,” said Litwayi.

Haitengela said Schmidt was a resourceful asset which the ministry cannot do without.

“You see, the problem is that Mr Litwayi wants to dictate to the minister what to do. JP Schmidt has expertise. As much as they have their own differences, they cannot dictate to the ministry who we can put in the committee,” Haitengela said.

“He did a very good job with sponsors. As we speak, he did a very good job. We have sponsors, I don’t want to mention all the companies because of this story now. But they give accommodation and cars for the athletes,” he said.

“It was because of him. While Mr Litwayi and the SG [Hamukwaya] are just frolicking there [in Paris], the guy is working here and that’s why he’s part of that committee.”