Hertta-MarIA Amutenja
Paragon Investment Holdings co-founder, Lazarus Jacobs, has vehemently dismissed allegations of insufficient capacity to execute ground handling services at Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) and raised concerns over a pathetic & amateurish campaign to discredit Paragon Aviation Services.
Paragon Aviation Services, which is part of Paragon Investment Holdings, has recently started providing ground handling services at the HKIA after it was awarded the contract by the Namibia Airports Company when the contract of the previous service provider Menzies Aviation Namibia came to an end.
However, Menzies has been fighting tooth and nail in courts to cling onto the contract through multiple court actions with no success.
The latest attempt was on Saturday when Menzies filed another urgent court application for their eviction from the airport to be set aside and be allowed to continue rendering ground handling services.
High Court Judge Hannelie Prinsloo, after hearing arguments, has reserved her judgment and is expected to deliver her decision on Friday, 1 September.
However, there have been questions from different sections of society, including the aviation and the tourism industries on the capability and legality of Paragon Aviation.
Questions have been raised around the security of travellers at the airport, accreditation and audits on Paragon Aviation Services, a notion which Jacobs dismissed and termed as propaganda and smear campaign to discredit Paragon Aviation.
“We’ve been getting the same questions on the same day which are clearly coming from the same source and community. It deals with our qualifications and competencies and registration with NCAA and all kinds of institutions. This is clearly an orchestrated campaign to discredit our company and we know who the source is as they accidentally sent this to our reporters. Useless.
Please don’t forget that Paragon also owns a media house. Don’t you find it interesting that you didn’t pose these questions to us as early as last year when we won the bid? It is simple because you were not fed with this information. We honestly don’t have time for orchestrated campaigns and propaganda. Paragon is on the ground with highly qualified staff members and will focus on the operations to ensure that all passengers and airlines are serviced better than ever before. That’s our main focus right now. I hope you understand. Thank you,” he said.
Jacobs added that Paragon doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone except for the Civil Aviation Authorities and the NAC which is the owner of the airport.
“The rest is just noise meant to distract the company from delivering on the mandate it is entrusted with,” he said.
