A Canadian oil and gas exploration company, ReconAfrica, continues to face negative publicity from civil society groups regarding its drilling activities in the Kavango Basin.
Among the allegations, the Economic and Social Justice Trust (ESJT) includes the company's failure to find the oil it promised, as evidence shows there was never any realistic prospect of finding the oil.
It is also accusing ReconAfrica of publishing positive prospecting reports to inflate the share price so that insiders could sell their shares at exorbitant prices.
The trust claims that the company dumped millions of shares on the open market and made a substantial profit.
It is further alleged that the company is almost bankrupt, has hired bankruptcy specialists Alvarez and Marsal, and is also being sued by shareholders.
The ESJT, therefore, requested that ReconAfrica rehabilitate the waste they caused in mud pits and compensate the communities affected by their operations.
In response, the company's Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations, Ndapewoshali Shapwanale, said there is a multitude of information available publicly regarding potential resources in the Kavango Basin.
Shapwanale said the company has defended the appeal filed by the concerned groups through its legal representatives, who are handling the matter.
She also explained that Alvarez and Marsal is not a bankruptcy specialist but a global technology consulting group that provides data management services to oil and gas companies, including ReconAfrica.
ReconAfrica is also facing another lawsuit by Kavango Conservancies and Community Forests Associations, which filed an appeal against the decision of the Environmental Commissioner to award an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) to the company.
The appeal was lodged in June last year when the applicants objected to the Environmental Commissioner's decision to grant an amendment to their initial certificate.
According to the Legal Assistance Centre, the Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, heard the matter last month and stated that the parties should expect his findings this month.