Steven Klukowski
Karasburg East constituency councillor Dennis Coetzee has denied allegations that he deliberately withheld information from the public regarding the production of face masks in favour of a company owned by his wife. “Dennis Coetzee deliberately withheld information on a government tender for the manufacturing of face masks, in the process arranged that his wife’s company, Denacle Investments, be awarded the tender,” an aggrieved resident Jacobus Basson claimed in a petition seen by New Era. Basson went on to claim that the councillor, by so doing, used his office and authority corruptly to directly benefit from the tender, alleging members of the public were given the opportunity to compete for the tender. Approached for comment, Coetzee said allegations levelled against him are not factual but rather aimed at tarnishing his name. “This person, Jacobus (Tico) Basson doesn’t like me, because he is not getting from me what he wants,” the councillor added. In terms of the tender for face masks, he explained that there was no tender and that his wife’s company has been identified by the ministry of industrialisation as one of many who should manufacture face masks for the //Kharas region. “She bought the necessary materials and employed jobless youth to sew these masks for use as precautionary measure against further spread of the coronavirus.” Coetzee assured that his office has an open door policy whereby any information received that may benefit the community is always shared with the public.
– sklukowski@nepc.com.na