Re: Shortcuts Cost Council: Job Worth Millions “Just Dished Out.”
I wish to respond to the article that appeared in The Namibian of Wednesday 29 August 2007 regarding the above-mentioned subject. In so doing I will address three pertinent issues raised in the article.
1.Job Worth Millions: “Just Dished Out.”
The report claims that I appointed Tonata Shiimi on a N$2 million contract to organise the conference without putting the job on tender. It is not true that Tonata Shiimi was appointed on a contract worth millions.
But given the time factor (November 2006 – May 2007) to effectively organise and eventually host a successful International Conference within that timeframe, Tonata Shiimi was requested, and at a very short notice, to assist the Council with the preparations of the framework and terms of references of the Conference for the tender purposes.
He was not appointed on a N$2 million contract.
2.”Haindongo Is Said to Have Disregarded the Rule and to Have Given the Job to AZ Investment Holdings without Consulting Colleagues”
The decision to consult Shiimi at a very short notice was the result of intensive consultation with my senior colleagues and eventually together with our Governor.
Shiimi did not only provide, in that short period, a comprehensive framework and Terms of References which served as guidelines for the tender advertisement, but he also provided a complete rollout plan for the conference.
The rollout plan set the 28 February 2007 deadline for us to come up with a complete conference structure inclusive of international mobilization and invitations to foreign dignitaries in order to ensure a viable response.
Subsequently, while the tender was running, we had to embark immediately on action and set up a structure to work on the basis of the rollout plan.
3.”Sources Claim that Haindongo Squandered Thousands of Dollars in Taxpayer’s Money as the Council Ended Up Paying Two Companies for the Same Services”
On 16 August 2007 a fully fledged Administrative Management of the Khomas Region held a Special Meeting to discuss the invoices for the services rendered in respect of the preparations of the postponed Conference of Governors and Mayors of Africa and Latin America.
At this special meeting, we invited Mr Medardua Kangombe, a professional system analyst and a member of our Regional Tender Board to assist in defining the meaning of the contents of the two invoices just to ensure that we do not pay twice for the same service. And it was agreed that the two service providers did indeed render two different services.
Shikwetepo Haindongo
Chief Regional Officer
Khomas Regional Council