• SONJA SMITHTRANSNAMIB chief executive Johny Smith is refusing to pay a law firm that was tasked with charging a rail parastatal executive accused of corruption.
Lawyer Phillip Ellis from Ellis & Partners was tasked by the TransNamib board earlier this year to compile disciplinary charges against Hippy Tjivikua, who was the acting chief executive from 2014 to 2017.
Tjivikua, who is now the parastatal’;s strategic and stakeholders executive, is accused of corruption, and being part of a scheme that allegedly led to N$24 million being paid by the parastatal for tenders which were supposed to cost around N$3 million.
A 31 July 2018 invoice seen by shows that the law firm wants to be paid around N$222 000 in legal fees.
In an interview with this week, Smith said the board acted against the Procurement Act 15 of 2015.
“The company will not pay those fees, never. It’;s illegal. The board went ahead and appointed this law firm without my knowledge. I have asked them for an appointment letter, and they have to date refused to provide it.
“The board cannot be involved in procurement. If I approve it, then I am also unlawful, and not adhering to the Procurement Act. And the minister (John Mutorwa) also said they would have to pay it personally.
“I have to remain within the procurement policy of TransNamib, and the Procurement Act. So, as the accounting officer of TransNamib, I will not pay for that invoice,” Smith said.
has also seen a letter dated 23 July 2018 in which Smith warned Ellis about acting against the TransNamib policy, as well as the national procurement law.
“I have seen that you have received an instruction from the chairperson of the board to proceed with the initiation of the disciplinary process of Tjivikua.
I want to indicate to you that the current TransNamib policy, as well as the Procurement Act of 2015, does not allow the board of directors to perform any procurement services.
“I would, therefore, like to inform you that unless such instructions are provided by the accounting officer of TransNamib and in this case, myself, no costs will be covered by TransNamib,” the letter reads.
reported in August this year that Tjivikua faces charges related to deals he allegedly rubber-stamped during that time, especially when TransNamib paid N$24 million to two companies linked to one person. Works deputy minister Sankwasa James Sankwasa said TransNamib would not pay a single cent for an illegal procurement.
“Whoever procured that invoice, in this case, the board, will have to pay for such services.
The law is clear that the accounting officer must carry out procurement, and not boards. So, no single cent will come from TransNamib to settle that invoice, none.
They (board members) will have to pay for it from their own pockets,” Sankwasa stressed. Government sources accused Smith and Sankwasa of frustrating the TransNamib board to delay the process of disciplining Tjivikua.
The plan, according to sources, is to wait until the board’;s term expires on 3 November this year so that the new board can cancel the disciplinary process against Tjivikua.
“The real story, I believe is a deliberate attempt to prevent legal action against Hippy. The board has explained how the CEO told them before his appointment that he and Hippy are close friends, and therefore conflicted.
“Seems like his refusal to proceed with legal action prompted the board to source assistance in the way that they did. It sounds like the CEO and deputy minister (MWT) are deliberately trying to prevent any further legal action against Hippy,” the source said.
Smith and Sankwasa have denied any wrongdoing in the past.
Asked when Tjivikua is going to be charged, Smith said the “parastatal could only begin with the process once the board has stopped with their illegal processes.”
Lawyer Ellis said he only takes instructions from the board.
“I can tell you two things: I work on instructions from the board of TransNamib, and I am not allowed to divulge information to the media. So, I will not discuss this matter further with you,” Ellis said.
The term of the current board, which consists of Paul Smit, Elize Angula, Dantagos Jimmy-Melani, Michael Ochurub and Wiseman Molatzi, expires on 3 November 2018.
Smit and Angula did not pick up their phones when called by on Wednesday, while Ochurub said he would not be part of the Ellis payment.
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