Finance accuses security company of fraud
The finance ministry has accused CIS Security Services, a security service provider it contracted in 2013 at its offices in Otjiwarongo, of fraud.
There had been a contract for the provision of security services at the Otjiwarongo office between the two parties from November 2013 to December 2018, according to the ministry's public relations officer, Andreas Ileka.
In an e-mail to Nampa on Monday, responding to questions, Ileka said the contract between the two ended on 31 December 2018 and the services of a new security company have been sourced to guard the Otjiwarongo Inland Revenue office complex on day and night basis.
“Our internal investigation discovered that the CIS security company had been defrauding the ministry through misrepresentation of information,” said Ileka.
As part of the immediate measure taken against the company, the ministry withheld payments due to it until the investigation process is completed, Ileka added.
A source who asked for anonymity on Tuesday told Nampa that seven security guards employed by the company at the Otjiwarongo finance building were sent home without pay for about four months.
“The ministry owes the security company about N$700 000 for September, October, November and December 2018,” said the source.
Ileka responded that the ministry would determine the actual amount of money owed to CIS only once the investigation is completed, adding that the investigation would reveal the alleged fraud amount.
“The security company is well aware of this as we engaged them on the findings and the withholding of their outstanding payments,” said Ileka.
The company supervisor dealing with the matter at Otjiwarongo, Simataa Mundia on Tuesday said the alleged misrepresentation of information came about when the ministry failed to timeously pay the company's monthly claims for security services provided.
Mundia said as a result, the company had to borrow money from a bank on an overdraft agreement to pay the salaries of its security guards.
“We incurred charges and penalties from the bank since the tendency of delayed payments of our claims became frequent and we consequently took several overdrafts until 2018. When we transferred these charges and penalties onto the ministry, it took it as overcharging,” said Mundia.
The seven former employees of CIS have also since registered a case with the labour ministry at Otjiwarongo for their unpaid salaries. - Nampa
MULISA SIMIYASA
There had been a contract for the provision of security services at the Otjiwarongo office between the two parties from November 2013 to December 2018, according to the ministry's public relations officer, Andreas Ileka.
In an e-mail to Nampa on Monday, responding to questions, Ileka said the contract between the two ended on 31 December 2018 and the services of a new security company have been sourced to guard the Otjiwarongo Inland Revenue office complex on day and night basis.
“Our internal investigation discovered that the CIS security company had been defrauding the ministry through misrepresentation of information,” said Ileka.
As part of the immediate measure taken against the company, the ministry withheld payments due to it until the investigation process is completed, Ileka added.
A source who asked for anonymity on Tuesday told Nampa that seven security guards employed by the company at the Otjiwarongo finance building were sent home without pay for about four months.
“The ministry owes the security company about N$700 000 for September, October, November and December 2018,” said the source.
Ileka responded that the ministry would determine the actual amount of money owed to CIS only once the investigation is completed, adding that the investigation would reveal the alleged fraud amount.
“The security company is well aware of this as we engaged them on the findings and the withholding of their outstanding payments,” said Ileka.
The company supervisor dealing with the matter at Otjiwarongo, Simataa Mundia on Tuesday said the alleged misrepresentation of information came about when the ministry failed to timeously pay the company's monthly claims for security services provided.
Mundia said as a result, the company had to borrow money from a bank on an overdraft agreement to pay the salaries of its security guards.
“We incurred charges and penalties from the bank since the tendency of delayed payments of our claims became frequent and we consequently took several overdrafts until 2018. When we transferred these charges and penalties onto the ministry, it took it as overcharging,” said Mundia.
The seven former employees of CIS have also since registered a case with the labour ministry at Otjiwarongo for their unpaid salaries. - Nampa
MULISA SIMIYASA
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