Fired Managers Guilty, Says Muluti

Catherine Sasman

19 July 2011

“THEY are guilty; they can appeal but it won’t change anything,” said Profysen Muluti on the appeal of Sem Iyambo and Paul Nashitati against their dismissals last week.

Muluti, who acted as legal representative of TransNamib after taking over from Slysken Makando who fell ill, said there were sufficient oral evidence, tracked emails, and other records as proof that the two have been involved in the negotiations with Quick Clearing Services.

The two were found guilty of having negotiated, procured, awarded, and/or attempted to award a tender, and further executed a contract with Quick Clearing Services.

Iyambo and Nashitati claimed that they have only been witnesses to the contract eventually clinched between TransNamib and Quick Clearing Services Namibia, a contract signed by former acting CEO Mike Kavekotora.

Not so, claimed Muluti, who maintains that the two were involved in the contract right from the start.

According to Muluti, Nashitati was instructed to deal with the renewal of the contract with Customs Clearing Specialists South Africa CC, which was coming to an end.

Customs Clearing Specialists rendered customs clearing functions for TransNamib at Upington, South Africa.

Muluti said the Customs Clearing Specialist is the same owner of Quick Clearing Services.

He said while Nashitati was in the process of negotiating the renewal of the Customs Clearing Specialists contract, he also negotiated for a contract with Quick Clearing Services, and prepared a document to that effect, which was “secretively” annexed to the contract with Customs Clearing Specialists.

The annexed document was indicated as Annexure F, in which Quick Clearing Services is mentioned once as QCS (Pty) Ltd.

The amount for the service was N$65 000 per month, which Muluti said was not approved by the TransNamib management and board.

He said it was only when the Namibia Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Natau) complained about TransNamib employees – who were under the management of Iyambo – received instructions to transact on behalf of Quick Clear Services Namibia, that alarm bells went off.

An internal auditor was then instructed to investigate how it came that Quick Clear Services was rendering a service for TransNamib, said Muluti.

Muluti said Nashitati has acknowledged that the annexure was not part of his mandate when he negotiated the contract with Customs Clearing Specialists, whose contract with TransNamib is still in place.

Quick Clear Services was reportedly only paid for one month before the alleged irregularity was discovered, but the company has apparently insisted on being paid for over two months.

Muluti maintains that no authorisation was given to use a portion of the TransNamib bond at FNB.

Moreover, said Muluti, Nashitati was not prejudiced when only one session of the disciplinary hearing continued in his absence, since only “one or two” witnesses gave evidence.

Muluti said the hearing had to be postponed twice because Nashitati fell ill.

He differed with legal representative of Nashitati and Iyambo, Jeff Tjitemisa, who felt that his clients have not been found guilty of the “more serious” count of misappropriation, but breach of trust.

More serious, maintained Muluti, was the breach of trust between employer and employee, which according to TransNamib policy, is counter-productive to the company’s commercial interests, and thus making continued employer relationship “intolerable”.

Muluti said there was no inconsistency in the outcomes of disciplinary hearings at the company.

In four prior cases, the recommendations for dismissals were made.

In the case of CEO of TransNamib Titus Haimbili, who was found guilty, outside interventions saw to his return to the company.

Human resource manager Alfred !Naruseb was charged on 24 charges, and found guilty on three counts, and was given a final warning.

Haimbili further countered claims that Nashitati and Iyambo have lost their jobs due to ill-feelings, as was alleged in the employees’ appeal, saying that his conscience is clear.

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