Problem:
Resolution:
It is up to the database vendor, in this case IBM, to determine what version of the Micro Focus products is compatible with their database products.
According to their Support for Database Application Development in COBOL page, Net Express 5.1 is supported with IBM DB2 version 10.1 for Windows. 
Here is the link to the IBM page: 
https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/db2/10.1.0?topic=compilers-cobol
#netexpress

