THE Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has arrested a Ministry of Health and Social Services employee and two others after a payment for an invoice totalling N$300 035.58 was allegedly made without any services being rendered.
This was announced in a media statement on Tuesday by the ACC public relations office.
According to the office, the three are ministry control administrative officer Morvens Silawa, former driver Victor Sekelo and businessman Stanley Griffiths.
They were arrested on Thursday, 26 January and appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court on Friday, 27 January.
They were granted bail of N$10 000 each and their case was postponed to 18 April, for further investigation.
"The Ministry of Health and Social Services is said to have awarded Griffiths, the owner of VehiCare Fleet Maintenance Solution CC, a tender in 2020 for a Hino truck conversion into a rollback," the office said.
"Griffiths submitted a tax invoice for N$300 035.58 and a purchase order for the conversion, both of which were fraudulently and corruptly certified by Silawa and Sekelo to confirm that the work has been done and the truck had been delivered to the ministry, whereas no work had been done and the truck was never returned to the ministry."
It is further alleged that months after Griffiths was paid and spent the money, he handed the truck over to a third party to do the work, but failed to pay the third party, who retained the government vehicle since 2021 to date.
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The case was reported to the ACC in November 2022, whereafter an investigation was conducted resulting in the arrest of the three suspects and confiscation of the truck to serve as an exhibit.
The trio faced charges for contravening Section 35(3) (a) read with sections 32, 46, 49 and 51 of the Anti- Corruption Act, 2003 (Act No. 8 of 2003).
The ACC said the arrest of any other official/s who may be linked to this corrupt scheme cannot be ruled out.
The ACC further urged public servants to put national interests above their personal interest by reporting corrupt persons to law enforcement agencies.
Those appointed or employed in positions of trust must commit to performing their duties diligently and ethically and uphold a high level of integrity at all times, the ACC noted.
