Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating a Namibian company which allegedly faked a letter of award, using a Ministry of Health and Social Services letterhead and the signature of its executive director, Ben Nangombe.
Records of the Business and Intellectual Property Authority (Bipa) show the company, Victoria Twelimona trading CC, is owned by Victoria George (32).
The investigation comes two years after the ACC received information in August 2020 of possible irregularities in the procurement of a personal protective equipment (PPE) tender.
ACC spokesperson Josefina Nghituwamata confirmed the investigation last Wednesday.
“As per the normal procedure, the matter has been registered under case number ACC-HQO-20-003135. However, as per the investigation thus far, it has been established that the tender, valued at N$259 million, was never awarded to the company or any other,” she said.
Nghituwamata said the investigation found the company forged a ‘notice to bidder selected for award’.
“We further established that a forged document purporting to be signed by the executive director of health and social services was used by the suspect in an attempt to convince commercial banks to grant the suspect finance,” she said.
“The commission has the forged document. The ACC, therefore, is continuing with the investigation,” Nghituwamata said.
She said the forged letter was used as a conduit by the company in an attempt to obtain a bank loan.
The demand for PPE items, such as gloves, masks, gowns and sanitisers have grown since March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic struck Namibia.
Nangombe says his signature has been forged in the past.
“The ministry has not contracted a company with such a name, according to our records. No single entity was awarded a contract of such value. There is no way we can give such a tender to one company.
“For goods, we give tenders of not more than N$25 million, and N$30 million for services, so it is beyond our threshold,” he says.
“This has happened before, and we have issued warnings to the public. My signature is in the public domain, so people are able to manipulate it,” he says.
‘IT WASN’T ME’
Victoria Twelimona trading CC was registered in 2012.
George admits that the ACC’s investigators have contacted her, but says she could not attend to them as she was in the north.
George last week told The Namibian she was set up by procurement officials at the health ministry.
She said this happened in April 2020 after the ministry announced the procurement of PPE.
“I went to the ministry to get information on how to provide the services, and a man by the name of Peter Hoto from the ministry’s procurement department gave me information and took my details,” she said.
George said Hoto explained to her that her company was selected to procure PPE, and that a notice of award, and a purchase order would be provided.
“He also advised me where I could buy the PPE in South Africa,” she said.
She said Hoto requested an amount of N$150 000.
“He said N$50 000 for assistance in picking my company, and the N$100 000 was for after I had succeeded at the bank,” she said.
George added: “It was only when I was being rejected at the bank that I found out the documents are fake. But they looked so real.”
According to sources, George approached all commercial banks in Windhoek seeking to fund her alleged fraudulent business – an allegation she denies.
“I only went to two banks: Nedbank, which is my bank, and then Bank Windhoek,” she said.
The health ministry has confirmed it has no employee called Peter Hoto.
‘ALLEGED FRAUDSTER’
George hails from Ondobeyefidi, according to her ID card.
In 2017 a post on social media, involving a picture of George, posted by one Haikela Ferdinand Tulela, painted George as an alleged fraudster.
“She came to my office and told me she has a registered construction company, and she had three tenders of which she only managed to pay two, and she is looking for a government employee to help her to get a loan from Letshego of N$80 000,” the post reads.
Tulela, who identifies himself as a clerical assistant, claims George promised to pay back his money within six months. He says he went on to secure a loan from Letshego, which he repaid in instalments of N$2 000 per month over five years.
“The lady was giving me N$2 000 for three months, and then she stopped and disappeared. All her phone numbers were off,” Tulela says.
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