The faint rumblings of discontent soon after the appointment of Alisa Amupolo in October 2022 have evolved into a full-blown civil war inside Namibia’s beleaguered diamond marketing outfit.
An array of labour, operational and security lapses as well as nepotism claims have been made with a fear of more irregularities being uncovered in a board-instituted inquest that has further thrown the cat amongst the already ruffled pigeons.
The once secretive parastatal is now characterised by leaks, accusations and counterclaims from factions inside the company.
The recent airing of dirty linen in public appears to have been triggered by the 18 January diamond heist, involving N$350 million worth of diamonds and the death of two people.
The Namib Desert Diamonds staff were not permitted to sort and value diamonds over weekends and after hours, but they kept doing so at the behest of senior officials who allegedly wanted to pocket excessive overtime.
New information that came to light through investigations into the 18 January heist points to a number of security breaches at the company in the months leading to the heist.
Investigations now revealed that the parastatal was in breach of its operating licences granted by the office of the diamond commissioner, which prohibited them from doing sorting and valuation-related work after hours.
The condition, The Issue understands, came about as part of the security measures the parastatal was supposed to meet.
This measure was, however, ignored and sources familiar with the situation at Namdia said it was sidestepped because sorting and valuing over weekends is a source of lucrative overtime payments to officials in the affected departments. Some officials pocket as much as N$70 000 in monthly overtime payments.
“Kindly consult Namdia in relation to their operating hours,” said Diamond Commissioner Miina Auene-Gahutu, who clarified that none of the diamond licences issued by her office have conditions attached that directly dictate diamond sorting operating hours, including that of Namdia.
Namdia’s spokesperson Beverley Coussement told The Issue that decisions on working hours are determined by internal policies and procedures based on the diamond market dynamics.
SECURITY BREACHES GALORE
Police and internal investigations have also uncovered other security breaches at the parastatal.
The Issue has learnt that a month before the heist, an employee in the production department entered the company premises while the company was on holiday and employees were not allowed on the premises apart from security personnel. The said employee could allegedly not explain what he was doing in the building, and no action was taken against him for the security breach.
In another incident, a media crew entered the Namdia premises just hours before the heist happened. The crew entered the building on invitation of a senior employee who was to be interviewed. The said employee (name known to The Issue) did not follow the company’s security protocols when they invited the crew into the building, leading to the incident being declared a security breach.
There have also been reported cases where Namdia employees posted videos and pictures of areas considered sensitive on social media. These postings have also been considered security breaches, exposing the company to security risks.
Senior police sources told The Issue that such incidences have been recorded as security breaches and are under investigation. But police are yet to determine whether the said security breaches are directly linked to the heist.
Coussement could not comment on specificities of the cases where breaches have occurred. She, however, said that all instances where a deviation of protocol occurred are being assessed and addressed internally.
In another case, a Namdia employee linked to people arrested in connection to the heist was placed on leave.
These are some of the preliminary outcomes of a wide-ranging board-sanctioned investigation, whose results appear to be pitting the parastatals’ board against its staff and management. This internal probe is running parallel to police investigations into the heist.
As a result of its internal probe, the board now finds itself at odds with the parastatal’s employees, with some accusing the board of meddling in operational matters.
The situation is so tense that the Mine Workers Union of Namibia (MUN) allegedly tried to intervene and accused the board of human rights violations and unilaterally changing workers’ conditions of employment.
UNCONSTITUTIONAL TESTS
The Issue understands that the row between the parastatal’s board and its employees started after the board gave instructions to ban mobile phones from sensitive areas of the company’s operations. This means that employees working in the sorting, valuation and sales departments are no longer allowed to have their phones with them when working in the production areas of the company.
The decision has sparked anger among the affected workers, who complained that their conditions of employment were being altered by the board without consultation. This led to the employees calling on MUN to intervene. Namdia’s sorting and valuation activities have also been moved to the Namdeb building in Windhoek’s central business district, while Namdia is upgrading its internal security system. The move has also irked unhappy employees who do not want to put up with the more stringent security measures at the building which houses Namdeb, DebMarine and the Namibia Diamond and Trading Company (NDTC).
The board, on the other hand, The Issue understands, is of the view that it is a common industry practice at all major diamond mining, sorting and polishing establishments. A government source pointed out that these measures were supposed to be in place from the day Namdia opened its doors, in line with industry standards.
The situation was further inflamed when employees were subjected to polygraph lie-detector tests. The employees felt the test was a violation of their constitutional rights. Results of such tests are not admissible in court.
However, they are commonly used in the diamond industry. Companies like Namdeb conduct random tests on their employees as part of their internal policies.
Namdia policies do make provision for polygraph tests but have never been implemented until the heist.
Coussement defended the company’s decision to ban mobile phones in ‘sensitive areas’, saying it is aimed at strengthening security. She added that the decision is in line with industry best practices.
“Due to the need for such high levels of security in our business, polygraph testing is a standard clause in Namdia’s internal policies. Employees are expected to undergo such assessments when required or deemed necessary,” she further said, defending the company’s decision to conduct lie-detector tests on its employees.
CONFLICTED CONSULTANT
At the heart of the standoff between the Namdia employees and its board is the parastatal’s former security chief, Clarky McKay.
He retired from Namdia in December 2022 and is now appointed by the board to head the internal investigations into the 18 January heist.
McKay is said to be behind the new dreaded security measures, with his investigative methods being seen as intrusive.
However, McKay’s appointment is being questioned, with his detractors alleging that procurement procedures were ignored when the board handpicked him as a consultant.
The company insists that McKay’s appointment was above board and in line with the Public Procurement Act. He was hired on an emergency procurement basis after the heist, the parastatal said.
He is also embroiled in a clear-cut conflict of interest situation, where his son Slogan McKay’s company, Grey Hound Security Services, was hired to manage Namdia’s Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) security system during the time he was the general manager responsible for safety and security at the parastatal.
“There is no conflict of interest as alleged. We confirm that Namdia has indeed made payments to Grayhound Security Services for services rendered on an ad hoc basis,” said Coussement.
The parastatal’s security systems and the majority of officials who oversee it are all remnants of the time McKay senior was in charge of Namdia’s security.
This situation has brought his independence into question.
LIFESTYLE AUDITS
However, McKay’s supporters claim that he is being targeted by a powerful cabal inside the company because his investigations are about to uncover other irregularities not linked to the heist.
At least two people who are well briefed about the situation at Namdia told The Issue that a powerful clique at the company has always used the unions and politicians to get involved whenever internal investigations are about to be launched.
It is said that following unreported media queries of security breaches and a loss of unspecified diamonds early in 2023, the chief executive officer Alisa Amupolo, later that year, instructed that lifestyle audits of employees in the production department be conducted.
There have been suspicions that diamonds were being smuggled out of Namdia. There have also been allegations that kickbacks were being paid to the teams responsible for negotiating prices with clients.
The following year Amupolo was facing a vote of no confidence from the workers. The employees wrote to the board demanding that Amupolo be removed as CEO.
She was accused of incompetence and blamed for the company making over N$230 million in losses.
The Issue understands that as a result of the workers’ revolt, Amupolo’s push for lifestyle audits fell to the wayside and was never implemented.
“There was no request by the CEO for a lifestyle audit on any department or individual. Any suggestions to this effect are incorrect,” insisted Coussement.
Amupolo was later during 2024 charged for paying bonuses to herself and her executive management team while having been instructed to halt such payments by the board. Disciplinary proceedings in that case have not yet been finalised.
After the heist, Amupolo, chief operations officer Uahoroka Kauta and chief of security Paulinus Sheyapo, have been suspended to pave the way for smooth and independent investigations. The Issue understands that they have not been charged with anything.
