By Chrispin Inambao WINDHOEK The suspension on Monday of the General Manager for Administration and Human Resources at the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) Theo Karipi, has its roots in a highly irregular “loan” he gave himself to buy an NBC bakkie. Insiders say the N$58 000 “loan” which Karipi repaid at a ridiculous N$1 000 interest-free monthly repayment – a fraction of what he would have forked out had he sourced the loan from a commercial bank – led to what they say is a long-overdue suspension. They say part of the purported loan was used for the purchase of a 4×4 Colt that was prized at a give-away price of N$20 000, but whose book value was N$168 000. At the time of the loan, Karipi was a recipient of a handsome car allowance of N$9 000 from which he paid the N$1 000 for the “loan”, lining his pockets with the remainder. This transaction took place in 2003, when the long-serving employee was the de-facto CEO charged with administration, finance and personnel, among a host of other functions, as the corporation was in a transition, changing leadership from one CEO to another. Though sources could not give the exact sum in the pension payout, one manager said the loan was so substantial it enabled Karipi to utilise a portion of it amounting to N$250 000 to repay a percentage of the mortgage on his house in Pioneerspark Ext 1. NBC employees are duly entitled to a loan up to N$5 000 under the TV Fund if they want to buy a new television set. There is also a PC Fund from which they are entitled to secure a maximum loan of N$8 000, while under the ambiguous Aid Fund they are entitled to a loan of N$4 000, according to a senior employee. An authoritative source said other transgressions allegedly committed by Karipi include that of processing his pension payout in a record time of three days shortly after which he re-appointed himself on a managerial level, starting at the top of the salary scale, while giving himself benefits to which he was not entitled. “What actually transpired is Karipi resigned but he had no intention to really resign though he approved his own resignation letter which he sent to Alexander Forbes (NBC’s pension administrator). And they paid out his pension money. In the meantime, he reappointed himself in the same position as manager: human resources,” said an insider. “When you start working at any company, you are supposed to be on probation, which means there are certain benefits which you don’t enjoy. You are supposed to work for a year or some months before you can start enjoying these benefits,” said another source. “After reappointing himself, he put himself on the top scale. And he bought the 4×4 from the NBC for a song without following any tenders. He was a law unto himself,” said an impeccable source who cannot be identified on professional grounds, but whose information was verified by one NBC Board member and a workers’ representative. Sources said he promptly dealt with subordinates who committed “minor” offences as he urgently convened disciplinary hearings from where he swiftly and mercilessly administered his version of justice, dismissing some of them without room for appeal. When contacted to comment on these allegations from serving and former NBC employees, Karipi’s mobile phone initially rang before it went on voicemail. NBC Director-General, Bob Kandetu, who hand-delivered the suspension letter on Monday, was also unavailable for comment as he hopped from one meeting to another. However, sources said Karipi is not alone as his colleagues such as Hadley Mwashekeleh, who previously worked as a cameraman but is presently employed as a news director, also resigned and he was immediately re-employed at the NBC after he received his pension. Rector Mutelo, formerly a general manager: marketing business development and corporate communication, and currently employed at a local bank as a public relations manager, bought a Mercedes Benz from the NBC for what is said to have been a give-away price. Sources also point at Jakes Mpuka, formerly an NBC senior librarian, of having benefited from the pension scheme in such manner by virtue of being Karipi’s close friend. Mpuka, just like Mwashekeleh and Karipi, was also reappointed after he had received a substantial pension and “severance” package from the NBC at a time when it was undergoing a meaningless transformation whose major objective remains to be seen. Insiders say the vehicles bought by Mutelo and Karipi could have been allocated to the corporation’s operational fleet, because at the time they were bought at deflated prices, for the NBC was on the verge of collapse as it faced its worst financial crisis ever.