Keetmanshoop management committee chairperson and LPM official, Easter Isaaks, has now officially confirmed that chief executive officer, Desmond Basson, has been given administrative leave saying that he will only be suspended after verification over alleged corrupt activities around him.Eagle FM had earlier on reported that Basson had been booted out.
He said the council did internal assessments and realized that there are legitimate reasons to look into allegations of corruption against Basson “to get the house in order”.
The CEO is said to have been adamant that the new council should pay up unauthorized expenditure where several payments were made contrary to decisions of the previous council.
“When the new council came in the CEO again tried to pressurize the new council to pay up the monies. We said this is totally wrong. Why should the new council engage in things in which the other council explicitly declined to engage themselves onto?”
“That is when we decided, if this is the case you are trying to push us into, we are not going to allow that. We will try to make things go as they are supposed to be, there should be a council resolution for such an expenditure to be undertaken,” said Isaaks.
A special council meeting was convened last Friday, he said, where they resolved that they will give Basson administrative leave.
“If we verify the facts then we are going to act on Mr. Basson. and then we are going to lay appropriate charges,” he said.
Last year, Gauntencia Khrone, of the Swapo party almost got rid of the CEO on 17 charges in which he was accused of:
Failing to implement 5% of the assessment levies for 2017 and 2018.
Causing council to accumulate a deficit of N$34,6 million between the 2015 and 2018 financial years, and over-expenditure on overtime of N$2,5 million for the financial year ended 30 June 2018.
The total overtime expenditure from July 2019 to February 2020 was N$346 660.
Entering a cession and refund agreement with Duma Tau Property developers and signing a service agreement with MaxProf (Pty) Ltd without council endorsement costing council N$1.5 million.
MassProf (Pty) Ltd specialises in VAT returns reconciliation.
Facilitating the sale of erven to staff member Theopauline Mack without ministerial approval, and misrepresenting to council information regarding the sale of Erf 2321 to chief magistrate Philanda Christiaans.
She is the wife of the council’s finance strategic executive, Jegg Christiaans.
Transferring a number of plots to Duma Tau Property developers in 2018 without any ministerial approval, and overpaying Redforce, a debt collector.
Signing employment terms for the council’s former HR manager, Leon Herman, in 2019 and failing to conclude an agreement with Gigi’s Construction, which resulted in council bulk services costing thousands of dollars more.
