Ester Mbathera
The Walvis Bay municipality has suspended the finance general manager, Frans !Gonteb and Johanna Shidute, the manager for revenue and credit control.
!Gonteb confirmed his suspension and added: “Yes, it’s true, but I didn’t get a letter yet. When I came to the office this morning, the acting chief executive told me in a very nice manner to go home because they decided as such yesterday.”
He claimed to have received information that his suspicion stemmed from the Redforce Debt Management appointment to assist the municipality in collecting outstanding debt.
In the local authority structures, procurement starts with the Procurement Management Unit, followed by the bid evaluation committee and procurement evaluation committee, which make recommendations to the accounting officer, who is the chief executive officer (CEO).
!Gonteb explained that John Esterhuizen, the municipality’s acting CEO, appointed the debt management company.
“The CEO made the mistake of terminating the service of Redforce, and they made reference to a council resolution. There is no council resolution that says the services must be terminated. The motion that was placed said that this item of Redforce be sent back to the management committee, and that is what happens with all motions,” he said.
The council confirmed the resolution during its ordinary meeting on Tuesday night.
The management committee typically receives motions and resolutions due to their potential legal and financial ramifications.
“The management committee must, via the CEO, make an addendum to the management committee with all concerns and evidence attached so that the management committee makes a recommendation to the full council whether the RedForce agreement must be terminated or not,” he explained.
However, the municipality made public the termination of the agreement with Redforce.
!Gonteb has advised the council to acknowledge the error and make the necessary corrections.
“That letter to Redforce should never have gone out,” he said.
The municipality spokesperson, Anitha Kaihiva, said a statement will be issued in this regard.
Email messages between !Gonteb and Esterhuizen show that he has advised the acting CEO to terminate the services of the municipality-appointed lawyer in the matter, Richard Metcalfe.
“Terminate the service of Metcalfe. Correct the public notice on our letterhead, you do not need legal advice for this. Involve Redforce for round table discussion, specifically leniency issues when it comes to collections (we already discussed this with them), but it can still be done. Procure the services of an investigator to investigate the whole process of appointing Redforce. The results of such an investigation will bring some peace of mind to some councillors and residents at large. Alternatively, invite the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (MURD) or Procurement Policy Unit to investigate,” he said.
Last week, community activist Knowledge Ipinge wrote a letter to the MURD, requesting the ministry intervene in the matter.
Ipinge wants the MURD to ensure that the municipality’s methods for collecting debts and providing for residents are fair, just, and free from exploitation.
He feels that the current methods are pushing the residents into deeper debt and dependency.
“Our gravest concern hinges on the rights of the dejected masses of our people in Walvis Bay, who are currently besieged by predatory practices that exploit their human right to water. We are convinced that the Municipality of Walvis Bay has committed a serious violation of the Public Procurement Act by engaging Red Force as a debt collection agency to recover overdue water payments,” he said.
