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Home / PM denies hand in HKIA upgrade tender award
PM denies hand in HKIA upgrade tender award
2017-10-04Staff Report 2 Staff Reporter Windhoek-Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila has denied allegations that she instructed the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Transport to award a contract for the Hosea Kutako International Airport upgrade to a Chinese company. In a statement issued yesterday, the spokesperson in the Office of the Prime Minister, Saima Shaanika, dismissed allegations making the rounds that the Prime Minister instructed the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Willem Goeiemann, to award the contract for the Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA) upgrade to a Chinese company. She said the Prime Minister wishes to inform the nation that these allegations are baseless and devoid of any truth. “The Prime Minister does not issue directives on the awarding of public contract tenders, and she has not, at any time, given instructions to award the contract for this project. Allegations to that effect are, therefore, malicious and are rejected with the contempt that they deserve,” Shaanika said. Other allegations are that certain senior public officials were made scapegoats for wrongdoings committed by politicians regarding the handling of certain government projects, or that they were treated with leniency on account of their association with the Prime Minister. In this regard, Shaanika noted that the Prime Minister has always advised that those who think they have evidence of corrupt practices by public officials should present their evidence to the relevant state institutions that are empowered to deal with such cases so that appropriate action is taken. “People making such allegations with regards to these specific projects are advised to do that,” she reacted. She further said the Prime Minister pointed out that accountability procedures in the public sector in regard to the discharge of administration duties and functions are carried out by designated persons under the relevant state laws and the procedures thereunder. She explained that the laws clearly stipulate how public officials are to be held accountable and politicians are no exception in this regard. Moreover, she said allegations of favouritism or victimisation of civil servants by the Prime Minister in the administration of the accountability procedures is thus misleading and malicious, and is strongly rejected. “It is damaging to the public interest when certain persons use their positions of public trust to deliberately misinform the public in an attempt to damage the public image of others,” she noted. 2017-10-04Staff Report 2
