By Patience Makwele

While Urban and Rural Development minister James Sankwasa criss-crosses the country trailblazing a heatwave of transparency, accountability and good governance at regional and local authorities, a stench of a deepening corruption crisis is eating away at the credibility of his own ministry, under his nose. 
A string of highly classified internal documents revealed that these include an irregular payment of  N$1,797,794.12 to a private legal firm for work that government consulting engineers explicitly refused to certify.
The scandal, which has paralysed national infrastructure projects, now centres on none other than Director of Housing and Habitat Development (HHD), Big-Don Kondunda and other officials who are accused of systematically suppressing technical oversight and orchestrating a payout trail riddled with procedural violations. 
According to the documents, the payment was processed under the Usakos Town Council Construction of Services Project, in which  a contractor was appointed to carry out works valued at N$5,503,365.58. As of October 2016, the contractor had already been paid N$5,228,253.61, representing 95.5 percent of the total contract amount. Despite this, the contractor allegedly abandoned the site before completing the project.
A second contractor, was later engaged by the government to complete the outstanding works at an additional cost of N$812,079.00.
However, internal evidence seen by this publication reveals that on 10 September 2025, a further payment of N$1,797,794.12 was processed to the trust account of a  local law firm described as an “out of court settlement” on behalf of Rio Engineering CC, despite there being no legal or procedural basis for the transaction.
The ministry’s own consulting engineers, Conselect Engineers, had earlier refused to certify completion of the work. In a letter dated 21 October 2024, the firm stated that “the money claimed cannot be certified because the work was not completed.”
An internal memo attached to the file further states: “No invoice was ever produced as there was no payment certificate issued by the engineer.”
The payment occurred amid rising tensions between the Directorate of Housing and Habitat Development and the ministry’s Technical Services Division (TSC), which accused Mr. Kondunda of consolidating control over project finances and dismantling oversight systems.
According to one internal report, “Mr. Kondunda is reported to exercise unilateral control over decisions related to budget allocations and the utilization of capital project funds nationwide.”
The report continues: “He has introduced new operational and planning procedures that create delays and bottlenecks in the approval and funding process, particularly for projects that are not aligned with his preferences.”
The TSC division accused the Director of deliberately delaying the implementation of capital projects across the country, influencing budget allocations to favour specific local authorities where he has “personal or financial interests.”
“This has resulted in him purposely re-allocating funds from ongoing capital project that have invoices kept in his office for months,” reads another section of the report.
Technical staff have also alleged that the director “has discouraged the technical team from conducting site visits related to capital project implementation, creating opportunities for improper activities to occur undetected.”

SUPPRESSION 
A memo dated 26 September 2025 shows that the TSC Division urgently appealed to the executive director Wilhelmine Shivute, protesting a direct instruction from Kondunda that prohibits staff from commenting on payment memos to indicate when “project detail verification was not done, since site visits are not taking place.”
The memo warns that the instruction effectively coerces professional engineers into falsely certifying that unverified work is “technically correct.”
Another document reveals that the director has “communicated a circular through the office of the executive director to remove assessment and verification of capital projects from the technical division to a non-technical division.”
It adds: “Removal of technical power from the technical division has made it impossible for engineers to detect irregularities in the payment process.”

STANDSTILL
The crisis has triggered a domino effect across several local authorities, bringing essential public works to a halt.
In Omaruru, contractor Ndakalimwe Investments issued an “early warning notice” to suspend operations after waiting since 4 September 2025 for unpaid invoices.
The Kavango West Regional Council reported that its accounts had fallen into deficit after being forced to borrow funds budgeted for other projects to pay New Era Investment, leading to multiple projects being “on standstill.”
At the Arandis Town Council, officials warned that contractors were losing trust in government due to delayed payments, with the council now facing the “risk of legal action.”

PROBE
Meanwhile, governance and anti-corruption specialist Ben Mulongeni, described the allegations as potentially indicative of “serious gross violations of procedures in terms of financial discipline and project management.” He said the alleged reallocation of funds between regions and projects could point to favoritism or corruption, though he refrained from labeling it nepotism without further evidence.
Mulongeni noted that the irony these allegations are surfacing under Sankwasa, who enjoys public trust for his intolerance of corruption. “Staff in that ministry are expected to act fearlessly and report irregularities directly, but if such oversight fails, it risks marginalizing regions and creating perceptions of discrimination by central government,” Mulongeni said. He emphasized that, should evidence confirm the allegations, the director involved “deserves dismissal,” adding that Namibia has precedent for removing officials in serious corruption cases. Mulongeni called for a thorough investigation and stressed the importance of hearing all sides before final judgments, warning that unchecked irregularities could destabilize communities dependent on delayed projects.

IN THE DARK
Contacted for comment, Sankwasa said he was “not aware” of the matter, explaining that he does not “work directly with documents or papers related to financial operations.” He referred all queries to Shivute.
Confidente reached out to Shivute who noted that the matter is “being looked at.”