Sport minister Agnes Tjongarero says ambassador Aochamub was supposed to be Olympics committee guest, not family members  

The Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) leadership allegedly jetted off to the Paris Olympics earlier this year, taking along family members on the taxpayer’s ticket.

Executive director of sport, youth and national service Erastus Haitengela on Tuesday claimed the committee’s accompanying guests were accredited, replacing ambassador Albertus Aochamub.

The NNOC leadership has, however, hit back, saying Haitengela is “uninformed”.

The Paris Olympics started on 26 July and ended on 11 August in Paris, France. Four Namibian athletes competed at the event.
Haitengela on Tuesday singled out NNOC secretary general Joan Smit, who took a family member to Paris.

“Like Joan Smit, she took her granddaughter with that VVIP ticket. So she was sitting where the VVIP people were at the time,” he said.

The executive director said due to the committee’s family members becoming part of the delegation, Aochamub was excluded from the event.

“Our ambassador was outside. He was not part of the ceremony. He was given a ticket for liaison officer,” Haitengela said.
He claimed that state funds were used for these family members.

NNOC president Abner Xoagub took along a family friend, his vice, Gaby Ahrens, was accompanied by her husband and daughter, while Smit was also joined by a family member, he said.

Smit on Tuesday confirmed that the group was accompanied by family members, but said Haitengela lacks context.

She said presidents and secretaries general of the NNOC and their guests were guests of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“The flight tickets and hotel accommodation for the period of the Olympic Games in those categories are paid by the IOC,” Smit said.

She said committee leaders are allowed to take guests along as a general practice of IOC members.

“The accompanying guests paid their flight tickets and meals,” she said.

NNOC POINTS TO MINISTER

Smit provided correspondence between herself and the sport minister’s office, stating that Aochamub was meant to be sport minister Agnes Tjongarero’s additional guest.

“The minister is still of the opinion that the ambassador can be accredited as the NNOC guest, which was meant for the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC), seeing that the NSC will not be attending the Olympic Games,” Tjongarero’s personal assistant, Jessica Gaomuses, wrote to Smit on 1 July.

The ambassador eventually got an Olympic attache accreditation.

“[It] was the better one of the two. That was the reason it was assigned to the ambassador. It was the minister’s choice to give the only other dignitary accreditation to her personal assistant and not to the ambassador,” Smit said.

Tjongarero yesterday said the ambassador was supposed to be the NNOC guest, taking over the spot of the NSC.

“Joan [Smit] said the NSC wasn’t going to attend the games, so ask Joan [Smit] why she didn’t accredit the ambassador as the NNOC guest as indicated in the emails, knowing full well that the NSC wasn’t attending,” Tjongarero said.

The minister said Smit must say who she gave that accreditation to.

“The funny part of it all is that we didn’t have problems with the Paralympic Games,” she told The Namibian.

In July, Tjongarero denied that the accreditation her personal assistant got was meant for the ambassador.

“If you are talking about the accreditation she has, it isn’t meant for the ambassador.

“These accreditations are allocated to the personal assistants of ministers for ease of movement, seeing they need to be where their principles are at all times,” she said.

‘STORM IN A TEACUP’

Aochamub yesterday called the executive director’s allegations “petty squabbles”.

“This is a storm in a teacup, and quite frankly, much ado about nothing . . . Petty squabbles and side shows will only keep our focus away from improving our chances for medals at the next Olympics,” he said.

Aochamub said the focus should be redirected to learning about progress on public funds the treasury has allocated to the sport ministry to improve the quality of sporting facilities.

“… and to what extent we are preparing our athletes for the Olympics in four years’ time … That is where our energy needs to be,” the ambassador said.