The Chief Executive Officer for the Intelligence Support Against Poaching (ISAP), Fritz Kaufmann, has come out to beat back at allegations of making use of huge chunks of anti-poaching donated money for salaries during an exclusive interview on the Early Morning Scoop.
A report by Project Whistleblower Namibia has said ISAP received N$2.06 million in 2019 of which 90% went to salaries and a trifle N$90 000 for the real anti-poaching activities.
But Kaufmann himself has vehemently denied that he has lined up his pockets with this money in any irregular manner.
He said the donations received were for the construction of the ISAP Facility in the Otjozonjupa region.
He added that global and local lessons in combatting poaching all reflect that education and training is an important element in securing community participation in protecting the environment.
“Donors who funded the construction endorsed the objective to have a facility for educational training and environmental awareness purposes. The facility is being constructed in stages and the first two have been completed as per the donors’ requests. The facility is operating and is open to be visited at any time,” he said.
On the report that two staffers pocketed N$500 000 in salaries, Kaufmann said included in staff costs for financial year is the remuneration for the construction project manager and for the ISAP head of operations who was responsible for all organisation projects, fundraising, coordination and planning of anti-poaching activities including liaison with the authorities and reporting to donors.
Said the CEO, “The allegation fails to recognise that ISAP as an organisation is involved in activities that go beyond surveillance (aerial and general information surveillance).”
“An organisation such as ISAP requires physical, organisational and
management infrastructure in order to drive the activities that it
participates in. Some of these costs such as rent, telephones, printing.”
While ISAP has been accused of putting money to a costly aero plane, Kaufmann told Eagle FM that the latter is maintained at an average annual cost of approximately N$150,000 year.
“Insurance, courier & postage, internet and accounting fees cannot be directly linked to a specific anti-poaching activity but must be incurred for the organisation to function. ISAP is like any other organisation in this respect,” he said.
The whistleblowers have said that ISAP was at one time kicked out by the tourism ministry for irregularities.
They have accused Kaufman directly of calling out of government theft as an IPC member while his ISAP house is not in order.
But Kaufmann has not taken lightly the IPC link saying that every one has a right to association, slamming the whistleblowers as non-voting non-Namibians.
He ha also said that audited financial results for ISAP will be made available once the audit assignments are completed.
