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S&T funds of a cancelled trip haunt former Information Minister Nawatiseb

S&T funds of a cancelled trip haunt former Information Minister Nawatiseb

Staff Reporter

THE former Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), Engelbrecht Nawatiseb, has been taken to court by his former employer, the Government, after failing to repay Travel and Subsistence funds advanced to him for a trip to Spain which was subsequently cancelled, as well as another amount allegedly overpaid in his monthly salary while he was a minister.

This is not the first case that the beleaguered former ICT minister is embroiled in, as liquidators from the former SME Bank are still seeking to recover funds amounting to N$2.8 million, which includes N$1.4 million Nawatiseb used to buy a house and thereafter controversially sold to a pensioner.

Nawatiseb’s latest matter, in which he is being taken to court by the government, appeared this week on the court roll for case planning details. It was proposed that the matter be postponed for a status hearing on 24 July 2024 to determine a hearing date for the intended summary judgement application.

In its particulars of claim, the government stated that on or about 11 February 2020, the defendant (Nawatiseb) was paid an amount of N$77,258.88 by the plaintiff as a daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for an official trip to Barcelona, Spain. It added that the trip was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed on international travel at the time.

“On 14 July 2020, the defendant was issued with an invoice by the plaintiff for repayment of the amount of N$86,529.94 (Eighty-Six Thousand Five Hundred and Twenty-Nine Namibian Dollars and Ninety-Four Cents), inclusive of interest. On or about 14 July 2020, the defendant acknowledged indebtedness to the plaintiff in the amount of N$86,529.94. On 15 July 2021, a letter of demand was issued to the defendant for payment of N$86,529.94. The defendant has to date failed and/or refused to repay the aforesaid amount and, as a result, was unjustly enriched at the expense of the plaintiff in the amount of N$86,529.94,” the court documents read.

In the second claim, it is said that on or about March 2020, the defendant received an overpayment from the plaintiff in the amount of N$19,903.81 (Nineteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Three Namibian Dollars and Eighty-One Cents) in his salary for March 2020.

“On 14 July 2020, the defendant acknowledged indebtedness to the plaintiff in the amount of N$22,292.26 and signed an acknowledgment of debt in terms of which he undertook to repay the plaintiff the aforesaid amount within 12 months from 30 September 2020 to 30 September 2021. The defendant has to date failed and/or refused to repay the aforesaid amount and, as a result, was unjustly enriched at the expense of the plaintiff in the amount of N$22,292,” the documents detail.

The government is thus seeking an order from the court for Nawatiseb to repay these monies with the applicable interest rates.

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