Chiefs fight over N$24m fishing quota bonanza
§ President roped into traditional leaders’ money fights
Traditional leaders are at the verge of dragging each other to court over millions generated from the sale of fishing quotas meant to benefit traditional authorities and their respective communities.JEMIMA BEUKES
WNDHOEKSeveral traditional leaders are up in arms over the spending of about N$24 million from fishing quota sales that was paid to a company of owned by a trust controlled by traditional authorities.
Hompa Investments sold its horse mackerel quota to a fishing entity called Nombili Fishing last year.
Hompa Investments was created in 2014 while the Namibia Traditional Authorities Trust(NTAT) was registered in 2018.
The beneficiaries of the trust are the 52-government recognized traditional authorities.
Hompa Investments’ proceeds from the sale, according to sources, was supposed to be transferred to NTAT. This did not happen.
Namibian Sun understands the money was not transferred because the trust does not have a bank account, this is despite resolutions having been taken at past meetings to open a bank account for the trust.
At least three chiefs are now alleging that the funds “are being appropriated without lawfully constituted meetings and lawfully passed resolutions and to the detriment of some of the beneficiaries/traditional leaders”.
According to the trust certificate of NTAT, the trustees are Immanuel Gaseb, Sam Kambazembi, Herman Iipumbu Iipumbu, Eduard Afrikaner, Kisco Moraliswani, Zacharias Seibeb, Frederik Langman, Hubert Ditshabue and Eugene Siwombe Kudumo.
The directors of Hompa Investment are Immanuel Gaseb, Kambazembi, Jacobina Lungameni and Fillemon Nangolo.
Nangolo serves as the chairperson of the trust.
Gaseb, Seibeb and Afrikaner, through their lawyer Dirk Conradie, have since written to the Master of the High Court, Elsie Beukes, asking her to compel all trustees to provide security because they are “experiencing difficulties with the manner in which the trust is being managed”.
The Master of the High Court is by law empowered to compel trustees to present security in the form of money or property which can be seized if trustees fail to protect the financial interests of the trust.
The trio also informed Beukes that they were denied information by the directors of Hompa Investments, despite being trustees of the trust that owns the company.
“The purpose of this letter is to seek your intervention to ensure that the Trust is transparently managed as required by the Act and in the interest of the beneficiaries,” reads Conradie’s letter dated 17 March 2021.
The money fights have since escalated to State House after the concerned parties approached President Hage Geingob to help find a solution.
Geingob referred the chiefs to Vice-president Nangolo Mbumba.
However, some of the chiefs claim that this meeting has not produced any fruits and they are readying themselves to return to Geingob for a solution.
The Ondonga chief confirmed meeting with Gaseb about the impasse and pointed out that the proceeds from fishing quotas is to sustain the various traditional authorities.
“This money is coming from the fish quotas because government felt chiefs must be able to create their own companies and do things for themselves and their communities,” he said.
Nangolo referred questions about the status of the money to Kambazembi, who is the chairperson of Hompa Investments.
Those close to him said his decision to resign was prompted by alleged woeful expenditure and the lack of implementation of resolutions.
Gaseb, who has since resigned as a director of Hompa Investments, declined to comment earlier this week when asked about his resignation as a trustee.
“I am only the chairperson of the trust; you must speak to Sam Kambazembi he is the chair. I don’t have jurisdiction to talk about this matter. We don’t have an account,” he said.
Kambazembi yesterday said the management of Hompa and the NTAT have extensively consulted with various stakeholders in terms of finding a workable and viable solution and urged aggrieved trustees to follow the relevant channels.
Power fights
Another director of Hompa Investments, Taswald July, said there are clear processes that should be followed by the chiefs, such as requesting for financials during a trustee meeting.
According to July, the chiefs reportedly failed to follow this particular process and has never requested for documents during a trustee’s meetings.
“At trustee meetings they are entitled to ask for this information. Some of them are invited to trustees’ meetings and workshops and they failed to attend. Why do they have to go to a lawyer to ask that very same question which they can ask in a trustees meeting? They have not asked for any of that in a formal trustees meeting. We will not give it to a lawyer, they must come and ask for it in a trustees meeting,” he insisted.
July added that they have nothing to hide and that in fact they can account for every single cent.
Despite July’s assertion that there were no requests for financials and other related information, Namibian Sun has been made aware that on 16 February 2021, during a trustee meeting, the Daures Daman Traditional Authority requested for the Trust Deeds and founding statements of Hompa Investments.
At the same occasion, a request was also submitted for several documents including an annual budget and also that an external auditor be appointed by the board to ensure that the finances of the company are prudently managed.
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WNDHOEKSeveral traditional leaders are up in arms over the spending of about N$24 million from fishing quota sales that was paid to a company of owned by a trust controlled by traditional authorities.
Hompa Investments sold its horse mackerel quota to a fishing entity called Nombili Fishing last year.
Hompa Investments was created in 2014 while the Namibia Traditional Authorities Trust(NTAT) was registered in 2018.
The beneficiaries of the trust are the 52-government recognized traditional authorities.
Hompa Investments’ proceeds from the sale, according to sources, was supposed to be transferred to NTAT. This did not happen.
Namibian Sun understands the money was not transferred because the trust does not have a bank account, this is despite resolutions having been taken at past meetings to open a bank account for the trust.
At least three chiefs are now alleging that the funds “are being appropriated without lawfully constituted meetings and lawfully passed resolutions and to the detriment of some of the beneficiaries/traditional leaders”.
According to the trust certificate of NTAT, the trustees are Immanuel Gaseb, Sam Kambazembi, Herman Iipumbu Iipumbu, Eduard Afrikaner, Kisco Moraliswani, Zacharias Seibeb, Frederik Langman, Hubert Ditshabue and Eugene Siwombe Kudumo.
The directors of Hompa Investment are Immanuel Gaseb, Kambazembi, Jacobina Lungameni and Fillemon Nangolo.
Nangolo serves as the chairperson of the trust.
Gaseb, Seibeb and Afrikaner, through their lawyer Dirk Conradie, have since written to the Master of the High Court, Elsie Beukes, asking her to compel all trustees to provide security because they are “experiencing difficulties with the manner in which the trust is being managed”.
The Master of the High Court is by law empowered to compel trustees to present security in the form of money or property which can be seized if trustees fail to protect the financial interests of the trust.
The trio also informed Beukes that they were denied information by the directors of Hompa Investments, despite being trustees of the trust that owns the company.
“The purpose of this letter is to seek your intervention to ensure that the Trust is transparently managed as required by the Act and in the interest of the beneficiaries,” reads Conradie’s letter dated 17 March 2021.
The money fights have since escalated to State House after the concerned parties approached President Hage Geingob to help find a solution.
Geingob referred the chiefs to Vice-president Nangolo Mbumba.
However, some of the chiefs claim that this meeting has not produced any fruits and they are readying themselves to return to Geingob for a solution.
The Ondonga chief confirmed meeting with Gaseb about the impasse and pointed out that the proceeds from fishing quotas is to sustain the various traditional authorities.
“This money is coming from the fish quotas because government felt chiefs must be able to create their own companies and do things for themselves and their communities,” he said.
Nangolo referred questions about the status of the money to Kambazembi, who is the chairperson of Hompa Investments.
Those close to him said his decision to resign was prompted by alleged woeful expenditure and the lack of implementation of resolutions.
Gaseb, who has since resigned as a director of Hompa Investments, declined to comment earlier this week when asked about his resignation as a trustee.
“I am only the chairperson of the trust; you must speak to Sam Kambazembi he is the chair. I don’t have jurisdiction to talk about this matter. We don’t have an account,” he said.
Kambazembi yesterday said the management of Hompa and the NTAT have extensively consulted with various stakeholders in terms of finding a workable and viable solution and urged aggrieved trustees to follow the relevant channels.
Power fights
Another director of Hompa Investments, Taswald July, said there are clear processes that should be followed by the chiefs, such as requesting for financials during a trustee meeting.
According to July, the chiefs reportedly failed to follow this particular process and has never requested for documents during a trustee’s meetings.
“At trustee meetings they are entitled to ask for this information. Some of them are invited to trustees’ meetings and workshops and they failed to attend. Why do they have to go to a lawyer to ask that very same question which they can ask in a trustees meeting? They have not asked for any of that in a formal trustees meeting. We will not give it to a lawyer, they must come and ask for it in a trustees meeting,” he insisted.
July added that they have nothing to hide and that in fact they can account for every single cent.
Despite July’s assertion that there were no requests for financials and other related information, Namibian Sun has been made aware that on 16 February 2021, during a trustee meeting, the Daures Daman Traditional Authority requested for the Trust Deeds and founding statements of Hompa Investments.
At the same occasion, a request was also submitted for several documents including an annual budget and also that an external auditor be appointed by the board to ensure that the finances of the company are prudently managed.
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