The Ombudsman John Walters said the farms bought and later sold by Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila and her husband Onesmus were offered to the government to buy in 2007.
According to Walters, he saw a letter written to the government by the German owner of the farms Karl-Heinz Friederich dated 5 February 2007.
He also said that the government turned down the offer saying that the farms were not productive.
Friedrich was given the farms under the Odendaal Plan where regions were divided according to ethnic groups in the 1960s.
The farms were placed in the then Bushmenland.
Some San community members told Eagle FM that during Friedrich’s time, they worked together on agricultural projects, game farming, cattle ranching and charcoal production.
They also said that Friedrich had a plan to leave part of the farms to them when his family moves out.
The community members said after the government refused to buy the farms, Friedrich opened it up to those who wanted to graze their livestock for a fee.
It was during this time when a white farmer named Nico Grundeling came with his livestock to graze on the land.
In March 2012, Friedrich died in a car accident and the farm was left under his wife’s charge. But she too had to leave the farm for Windhoek when she grew old. Currently, she is in an old people’s home.
The community members further said the sale of the farms could have been done after Friedrich’s wife had left.
They base this claim of the fact that she left a letter that stated that they would inherit all the farm equipment, 17 cattle and various other items.
When the PM and her husband bought the farms in 2012, they ordered the San community to leave the land but according to Walters the community refused to barge claiming that the land had been left in their hands for resettlement.
The farms were bought under the couple’s company called Seize the Moment Investment 56 CC.
THE LOANS
To buy the farms, the PM and her husband got a loan a N$5 200 000 loan by a commercial bank on 28 February 2012.
However, on 27 March 2013, the couple got another N$12 794 300 loan from Agribank N$12 794 300 for the two farms.
They then paid off the commercial bank loan, which with interest could have been N$5 700 000, if one considers that the loan repayment period was 15 years at 8% interest.
After settling the commercial bank loan using the Agribank loan, the couple was left with slightly more than N$7 000 000.
Between 2017 and 2018, the couple applied to the agriculture ministry to subdivide Farm Duwib into three potions. This application was turned down because it was considered to be uneconomical.
THREE PORTIONS
If the agriculture ministry had allowed the couple to subdivide the farm into three portions, they would have made a cool N$24 000 000 and then pay off the Agribank loan in one swoop.
This is how:
Portion 1 of Farm Duwib No. 1149
2,458ha times N$3 255 per ha = N$8 000 000
Portion 2 of Farm Duwib No. 1149
2,458ha times N$3 255 per ha = N$8,000,000
Remainder of Farm Duwib No. 1149
2,459ha times N$3 255 per ha = N$8,000,000
Total N$24,000,000
This did not happen.
The couple appealed the agriculture ministry’s ruling but could not succeed in subdividing the farm into three. Instead, they were allowed to subdivide into two – one of 5009 ha and another of 2449 ha – sometime in 2020 before they offered the farms to the government.
According to the statement issued by agriculture minister Calle Schlettwein, the government paid off the farms on 18 December 2020, yet a day before the payment was made the Amadhilas put up a portion of Farm Duwib as security for the Agribank debt.
There are two explanations as to why they had to put up one portion of the farm for security. Either the couple were not servicing their Agribank loan and that the payment from the government – 14,354,935 – was not enough to pay off what they needed.
If they were paying the loan, the couple could have paid off the Agribank loan and still have more than N$3 200 935 change.
This is how:
Loan amount as of March 2012 – N$12 794 300
Loan repayment period 20 years at 8% interest
Approx. annual repayment @8% 1,303,000 per annum
Approx. loan balance – December 2020 = 11,154,000
Balance (after settling Agribank) 3,200,935
Suppose they were not servicing their loan
Loan term 20 years
Loan amount – March 2013 N$12,794,300
Approx. annual repayment @8% 1,303,000
Approx. loan balance – Dec 2020 – N$20,022,264
After paying off the Agribank loan using the payment from the sale of the farms to the government, the couple could still owe the bank N$5 667 329. This could explain why they had to put up the other portion as security with Agribank.
