Renthia Kaimbi
Finance manager of the Omaruru municipality, Phillip Domingos, is suspected of “cooking the books” after he was found in office on Saturday with an accountant, amid a pending investigation into financial irregularities that led to the suspension of the council’s substantive chief executive officer, Valentinus Sindongo, about two weeks ago.
Domingos, who was appointed acting CEO of the council following Sindongo’s suspension, denied any wrongdoing, saying they were busy preparing annual financial statements.
However, Omaruru mayor Eberth Gariseb told the Windhoek Observer that the council was looking to replace Domingos in his acting duties, as the situation has raised further alarm bells.
The incident has deepened concerns over governance at the embattled local authority, which is already under a cloud of suspicion regarding its financial management.
Sources told the Windhoek Observer that while stringent measures were put in place pertaining to access to the building, Domingos was allegedly found inside the building with an unidentified person on Saturday around 16:00.
Passers-by alerted the mayor that the building appeared open. Upon arrival, Gariseb allegedly found Domingos in the company of an individual, whom he claimed to be from SM Chartered Accountants – a firm contracted by the municipality since 2023.
“I was even shocked to find them there because we have a pending internal investigation that needs to be followed up. And if you find people inside on a Saturday, you’ll be surprised and ask yourself what’s going on,” said Gariseb.
The mayor said he informed the chairperson of the management committee, Thelma van Rhyn, about his discovery so they could follow due process from the line ministry to further investigate Domingos’ occupation of the building amid the ongoing investigation involving financial irregularities.
“What we did as a council was to ask him to write a report about what he was doing in the office and then give us specifics about who the person was and so forth, so that when the investigation starts, we know what transpired on that specific day,” Gariseb added.
He further stated that as finance manager, Domingos would likely be included in the investigation against Sindongo; and it was therefore, suspicious for him to be in the building with an alleged accountant on a Saturday.
“We asked for assistance from the regional council. They have given us some assistance, but we are waiting for the line ministry, especially the executive director, to now come up with a suitable candidate for acting capacity,” he added.
When contacted for comment, Van Rhyn said Domingos had informed her that he would be in office on Saturday to prepare yearly and monthly financial statements.
However, she said, he did not mention that he would be accompanied by anyone from the accounting firm.
Sources alleged that the move seemed “suspicious” and as if “somebody was cooking the books.”
“I did address it with him because the mayor sent him an email, which was addressed to all councillors, asking what he was doing in the office on a Saturday with an individual that was not identified to me, which was actually wrongdoing on his part. But I’ll take it as a benefit of the doubt that it was the person who works on our finances that was in the office with him,” Van Rhyn explained.
Sources further stated that the pending investigation will cover the past six financial years, adding that council is also looking into seven projects involving only two specific engineering companies (known to the Windhoek Observer) that have benefited from tenders valued at approximately N$40 million.
The one company is said to have been involved in five out of the seven projects. Other irregularities include the determination of a contract sum allegedly only upon completion of the project, as well as the usage of the municipal fleet by contractors.
One of the engineers was allegedly also paid handsomely for constructing manholes that were 30 centimetres above street level, while a municipal employee was supposedly suspended for constructing manholes at 10 centimetres above the ground.
“How can the council suspend an employee for providing 10 centimetres while they have a contractor that gave them manholes that are 30 centimetres above the ground? That is suspicious and contradictory,” a source said.
Speaking to the Windhoek Observer on Thursday, Domingos refuted the suspicion, saying it was not the first time he had worked over the weekend to finish his backlog.
“As management, we are activity-based, so that Saturday… I was busy preparing financial statements because we are towards the end of the (financial) year,” he said.
Regarding his unidentified companion, Domingos claimed that he was found working with the accountant that allegedly “supervises the council’s financial statements.”
“I don’t know why these people did not ask me. It actually has nothing to do with the investigation. We were just doing our daily operations. It’s only that SM Chartered Accountants can only operate on Saturdays and Sundays, seeing that the head of that company is also working somewhere else out of town. So, he traveled all the way to come and assist us so that we finish before 30 June,” said Domingos.
He further stated that management can verify his movements at the office on that day on the council’s closed-circuit television cameras, adding that he and the accountant were only in the municipal chambers without accessing an office believed to contain evidence that forms part of the investigation and remains locked.
“I don’t know what are the charges laid against that office. The investigation is ongoing. I don’t have any comments on that. I’m not involved,” he told the Windhoek Observer.
The suspension of Sindongo has itself been a contentious issue, with the Namibia Association of Local Authority Officials (NALAO) questioning the process.
NALAO president Moses Matyayi warned that arbitrary or procedurally flawed suspensions undermine good governance.
However, Gariseb has defended the council’s decision, stating the suspension was necessary to allow the investigation to proceed unhindered.
