Namcor performing managing director Lionel Mathews is listed as an adviser to a consortium that gained a N$1 billion contract to construct, finance, function and keep oil depots for the nationwide oil firm he’s now main.
This has dropped at the fore considerations over a battle of curiosity.
The tender includes the development, operation and upkeep of Namcor gas storage services at Ondangwa, Gobabis and Windhoek for 15 to twenty years.
Mathews was listed as a transactional adviser for a consortium known as Fullbright Investments and Omahooli Options.
He may now be concerned in imposing that very same tender throughout his six-month tenure at Namcor.
Mathews’ position on this transaction includes a number of politically linked people who benefited from the controversial N$7-billion oil storage facility and the Ongos Valley housing challenge in Windhoek.
Mathews, the previous managing director of Nedbank, which funded Ongos Valley, was appointed final Thursday by the Namcor board to briefly substitute suspended managing director Immanuel Mulunga.
However newest revelations about Mathews’ hyperlinks to Namcor’s tender has added questions on his keep on the nationwide oil firm, which has been haunted by an influence wrestle involving teams aligned to Mulunga and board chairperson Jennifer Comalie, respectively.
Widespread Democratic Motion member of parliament Lukas Hidipo Hamata this week gave discover to ask minister of mines and power Tom Alweendo about Mathews’ involvement within the N$1-billion tender subsequent week.
“Matthews is listed as a companion, company finance adviser to the majority storage improvement challenge. That, for my part, is a blatant and outright battle of curiosity,” he mentioned.
THE TENDER
Namcor marketed the tender between November 2021 and January 2022.
9 bids have been acquired from corporations, with Fullbright Investments and Omahooli Options scoring the very best at 85%, beating DME Namibia Options, which scored 77%.
Firms which submitted bids embrace Broadside Capital, Central Oil Namibia, Daris Vitality and ATMEI Constructions and Khoekhoen Vitality, DEC Gasit and Nexus Group and Shoopala, Kepu Petroleum Namibia and Resouval System, Alpha Sekgope Namibia Storage, and United Africa Group and Coe Worldwide.
The tender was awarded to a joint bid of Fullbright Investments and Omahooli Options on 24 June 2022, in line with data obtained from Namcor’s web site.
An government abstract of the bid analysis report, signed by Mulunga, said that Fullbright Investments and Omahooli Options had the best-evaluated bid.
An inception report submitted to Namcor listed Mathews as a companion company finance advisers for Fullbright Investments, which may probably create a battle of curiosity given the continued energy struggles between the board and administration at Namcor.
Mathews mentioned he isn’t a companion of Fullbright, however confirmed he stopped doing work for the corporate previous to his appointment as performing Namcor managing director.
The Namibian has seen an e mail despatched by Fullbright’s Abed Erastus notifying the Fullbright Investments and Omahooli groups about Mathews’ withdrawal from the consultancy.
The e-mail was despatched on Wednesday at 17:06 — over an hour after The Namibian despatched enquiries to Mathews.
“I’m a company finance advisory companion with Monasa Advisory. Monasa has been contracted to do fundraising for Fullbright. I used to be put ahead as a staff member of Monasa to help on this fundraising earlier than my appointment as performing managing director,” he mentioned.
He added: “I’ve, subsequent to my official appointment in the present day (12 April), been eliminated as a member of the Monasa staff doing work for Fullbright.”
Mathews denied a battle of curiosity: “There is no such thing as a battle. This matter has been coming since 2022. I used to be merely requested by Monasa to be a part of a staff that gives company recommendation.”
By the point of going to print, Mathews was nonetheless a part of the staff advising the Fullbright staff.
“So far as I do know, there have been no contractual preparations. I’ve been faraway from the Monasa staff for this work and Fullbright is within the technique of doing that. I hope this clarifies,” he mentioned. Minister of finance and public enterprises Iipumbu Shiimi referred inquiries to the Namcor board.
Namcor board chairperson Jennifer Comalie mentioned: “Lionel [Mathews] will contact you immediately.”
THE PLAYERS
The opposite gamers within the Fullbright consortium are Ongos Valley and AIJ Consulting Engineers, and Infrastructure Managers homeowners Americo de Almeida and Isak Nahum – a nephew of liberation wrestle icon Andimba Toivo ya Toivo.
De Almeida mentioned Mathews is a part of the transactional advisory staff advising Namcor and Fullbright on the transaction.
“I don’t suppose he needs to be a part of the transactional advisory staff if he accepts the Namcor job,” he mentioned.
De Almeida mentioned given the consortium’s submission to Namcor in 2022, Fullbright Investments has been and stays a accountable and dutiful company citizen, working inside the bounds of the legislation.
“Our firm has operated transparently with all stakeholders, and shall proceed to take action,” he mentioned.
De Almeida and Nahum have been concerned within the improvement of Ongos Valley because the starting.
Presidential youth adviser Daisry Mathias confronted criticism in 2016 for utilizing State Home to foyer the Metropolis of Windhoek on behalf of the well-connected enterprise individuals to hurry up the method that concerned the sale of the land which is in the present day owned by Ongos Valley.
AIJ Consulting Engineers and Infrastructure Managers can be linked to the development of the nationwide oil storage facility that was confronted with allegations of irregularities and worth inflation of as much as N$5,5 billion.
Nahum didn’t reply to questions despatched to him.
The important thing gamers in Omahooli Options are Zane Jansen and Jan Everson.
In 2020, Omahooli Options was awarded a N$7-million Namcor tender for the development of two switch pipelines between the oil business and a pipelines take-off level in Puma Vitality’s terminal at Walvis Bay.
The opposite gamers within the Monasa Advisory and Associates consortium are managing companion Jason Kasuto.
Kasuto is a former memebr of the Excessive-Stage Panel on the Namibian Financial system, which was arrange by president Hage Geingob in 2019.
Shakwa Nyambe of SNC Integrated is listed as a authorized agency companion.
Nyambe has performed authorized work for ReconAfrica.
Nyambe final yr threatened The Namibian to cease the newspaper from publishing experiences on ReconAfrica.
Director of the Financial Affiliation of Namibia Klaus Schade and RMB Namibia’s Matthias Langheld are additionally listed as senior associates for the consortium.
Uconomy Namibia’s Scha van Niekerk can be listed as a senior affiliate.
Supply: namibian
