PWC audit flagged irregularities in Namcor payment arrangements
Hertta-Maria Amutenja
An audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) flagged questionable financial practices at Namcor.
It highlighted irregular payment arrangements with Enercon Namibia (Pty) Ltd, the company at the centre of a N$53 million fuel supply deal.
The audit was presented during the ongoing bail application of former Namcor managing director Immanuel Mulunga and eight others in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court.
State prosecutor Basson Lilungwe told the court that the PWC audit uncovered accounts exceeding credit limits, unusual balances, and questionable payment terms.
The state revealed that Enercon was allowed to accumulate a fuel debt of N$108 million, despite having a formal credit limit of just N$15 million.
Lilungwe questioned why, under Mulunga’s leadership, Namcor continued supplying fuel to Enercon beyond the credit limit. He also noted that only N$35 million of the debt was eventually paid.
The state used the PWC audit to argue that the payment arrangements were not aligned with proper corporate standards. “Had you taken due diligence as managing director, all this would not have happened,” Lilungwe said.
Mulunga disputed the audits findings, calling them merely an opinion. He explained that the payment arrangements were between Namcor Trading and Distribution Pty Ltd and Enercon, not the Namcor holding company.
When asked about the large gap between the credit limit and the final debt, Mulunga stated, “Those are the things that were not happening at my level. I had people who made those decisions after I signed off the credit limit.”
He added that his role as managing director did not involve daily credit monitoring and that other officials could provide more details.
Mulunga argued that the remaining N$73 million of unpaid debt was not directly Enercon’s liability but had been transferred from another
company, Eco Fuels, which Enercon had absorbed.
He claimed that the N$35 million payment would have kept Enercon’s account within the credit limit if the transfer had not occurred.
Lilungwe pressed Mulunga further, asking why Namcor entered into a purchase agreement with Enercon while the company already owed more than N$15 million.
Mulunga responded that the asset purchase agreement stipulated a payment of N$35 million “if there was any debt,” but he could not recall how much debt Enercon had at the time. “I was not the one who worked with those details,” he said.
Mulunga maintained that the fuel supplied to Enercon was not given for free but was provided with the expectation of repayment. “It is incorrect to say fuel was given freely,” he said.
The charges against Mulunga stem from a 10-year fuel supply deal signed in 2022 between Namcor Trading and Enercon Namibia.
The state alleges the deal, valued at N$53 million, was concluded under irregular circumstances. The deal involved prepayment terms and asset transfers and is under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Mulunga faces multiple charges related to corruption and fraud, including accusations that he unlawfully authorised a N$35 million payment to Enercon as part of the asset purchase deal without proper internal approvals.
The bail application is ongoing.
