TransNamib placed under microscope

Edward Mumbuu Jnr – Public enterprises minister Leon Jooste has enlisted the services of audit firm Ernst & Young (EY) to determine the veracity of allegations of corruption at national rail entity TransNamib.This is according to communication to staff issued by TransNamib board chairperson, Sigrid Tjijorokisa, dated 19 August 2021.“Ernst & Young has been appointed by the ministry of public enterprises in line with section 25 of the Public Enterprises Governance Act, Act No. 1 of 2019 and in concurrence with the ministry of works and transport, to perform an independent investigation into certain reported allegations of perceived non-compliance to certain policy and procedure and/or irregularities,” Tjijorokisa said in the memo seen by Nampa.The investigation is set to end on 31 October 2021.COOPERATIONIn the communique, Tjijorokisa also pleaded for cooperation.“Their mandate is to confirm or refute the perceived/reported allegations and all staff is therefore encouraged to liaise with the EY team during the course of this engagement or to come forward with any information that could be regarded as relevant or helpful in this regard,” it said.A separate document, to which this agency is privy, outlines EY’s terms of references. At the heart of Jooste’s instructions is for the firm to investigate alleged transgressions against TransNamib management.The firm is expected to, among others, investigate “allegations of misrepresentation of financial performance and actual progress made around the implementation of the Integrated Strategic Business Plan … This should include a financial health audit and analysis of losses and negative cashflows being recorded”.THIRD PARTIESTransNamib’s commercial contracts with third parties such as Tradeport, Dundee, Coleman, Henning and Eurovin are also to be investigated.The audit firm is in addition expected to conduct “an investigation of procurement practices for 2020/21 against the approved procurement plan with specific reference to the leasing of locomotives from third party suppliers and customers”.EY will also probe procurement irregularities including the controversial camera tender and installation of boom gates.The relationship between Namibia Rail Construction (Namrail) and D&M Rail Construction is equally under the spotlight.“The current arrangement seems to imply that TransNamib has not benefited and that D&M rail is performing work on their own instead via Namrail,” Jooste said.He added that dodgy human resources practices which include unreasonable suspension of employees for extended periods without any justification must be scrutinised.DIRE FINANCESJooste is further baffled by how TransNamib’s staff complement skyrocketed from 900 employees in 2017 to the current 1 400, “including the handling of redeployment of road department staff versus new recruitments in the south”.In TransNamib, the minister has faced a paradox.Earlier this year, Nampa reported on the company’s dire financial position, where laws and regulations are seemingly circumvented with impunity.This prompted Jooste to direct the TransNamib board to institute an investigation into allegations, “which, if true and left unchecked, may have detrimental consequences for the operational and financial sustainability” of the public company.Furthermore, investigations by Nampa paint a picture of an entity whose financial records do not speak to the situation on the ground.Chief among the allegations is that the company has a bloated management structure consisting of nine executives. The implementation of the company’s performance management policy has also been questioned.In 2020, only TransNamib’s chief executive officer Johny Smith and three executives were paid performance bonuses. There were only four executives at the time.FIGURESWhen submitting their performance case to the board in 2019, they premised it on the company’s increased revenue of N$54 million (11%) for the 2018/19 financial year.During that period, TransNamib recorded a loss of N$80 million against an anticipated loss of N$315 million, a feat worthy of celebration, they said.In return, they were paid around N$700 000, averaging N$175 000 each.Further, some TransNamib bosses appear to be a law unto themselves. For example, procurement manager Ricky Bezuidenhoudt wrote to the executive for properties, Alynsia Platt, asking why she was being circumvented in the procurement processes.She asked Platt in an email: “Questions that came to mind is, how was the supplier[s], service providers’ selection done…?”Platt retorted: “I am not your equal; therefore, do not address me as if I am. Alternatively, refrain from addressing me directly.”In addition, three temporary Zimbabwean nationals’ diesel electrical fitter positions qualify for unfettered benefits, including those reserved for permanent staff, such as housing allowance, medical aid and pension. - Nampa

TransNamib placed under microscope

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TransNamib placed under microscope

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