• By Patience Makwele

Urban and Rural Development Minister James Sankwasa said he is acquainting him- self with a recent Confidente report on damning findings of at least four forensic audits and investigations at the City of Windhoek, before summoning municipal officials to hand over the documents to him.

Last week, Confidente reported that the City commissioned investigations and forensic audits in the 5G procurement scandal; faulty municipality billing system; allegations of irregularities in the appointment of the strategic executive for information communication technology and the procurement and appointment of Red Force Debt Management company. The City confirmed the findings and recommendations of thesecontextualised what is wrong and what is right, [and] what my strategy [will be] to make it right,” Sankwasa added.

 “You will get everything. I will attend to everything and you will hear of it.”
Trailblazing a hands on approach to dealing with corruption, Sankwasa has been making unannounced visits to regional and local authorities to smoke out corrupt councilors and officials, in the process ushering in good governance practices.

AT THE CENTRE
Anti-Corruption Commission’s Director Paulus Noah confirmed that the anti-graft body has been investigating City officials over a string of allegations pertaining to their conduct, of which they recommended disciplinary and other actions for the municipality to implement.

Meanwhile, Social Justice Activist Shaun Gariseb who last week accused City officials of dragging their feet over the findings of the probes, has since written to Sankwasa for his intervention at the municipality.   Speaking to Confidente recently, City spokesperson Harold Akwenye confirmed the commissioning and conclusion of independent audits and forensic investigations into these four matters and other critical issues. 

He also confirmed that the findings point to misconduct or irregularities and appropriate corrective measures, including internal and/or external disciplinary processes will be considered in accordance with applicable policies and legislation.
Akwenye also indicated the reports are now subject to formal internal review processes, which include administrative and legal considerations before any further action is taken.

IN DETAIL
One audit was commissioned following the damning revelations of gross irregularities with the City’s billing system, which is said to be clandestinely overcharging some residents for monthly utilities, while some high-value municipal accounts have allegedly been erased from the system entirely, sparking fears of “disappearing debt” for a privileged few. This caused uproar among Windhoek’s vulnerable residents, who many times had to have their water and electricity disconnected due to high monthly bills, wrongly captured by the defective billing system.

Confidente has it on record that City officials have been aware of these billing anomalies since 2023 and that the forensic audit completed late last year, uncovered critical failures and potential manipulation within the system. 

Another internal probe investigated of irregularities in Chinese telecom giant Huawei secured for a deal which would contract the company to install 5G connection facilities. Some City officials were implicated in this deal. Similarly, the City launched an investigation into the alleged dubious appointment of Neputa as the Strategic Executive of Information Communication Technology, while he faced disciplinary charges in the 5G procurement scandal.

 At the time, Neputa was acting in that position since 2021 and concerns were raised as to how he was promoted to the senior position. Some within the municipality are claiming that his charges vanished with technicalities sighted, to pave way for his elevation.  

Lastly, another forensic audit was launched into the relationship between Red Force Debt Management Company and the City, which resulted in a two-year contract expected to expire on 25 August.