The President Must Act

By: Editorial Comment

ONCE again the public is being treated to what may amount to a costly human soap opera in the form of the public hearing into alleged malpractices at the Road Fund Administration and Roads Authority.

This is the not the first, and it probably won't be the last

hearing of its kind, but unless action is taken after conclusion of

the commission, there is absolutely no point whatsoever in going

through this kind of exercise in the future.

The RFA and RA hearings, like several that have preceded them,

have already revealed widescale maladministration, misappropriation

and incompetency among others, and to the huge losses that have

been incurred to the state and the taxpayer in this way, must be

added the cost of the hearings itself, which is also likely to be

quite considerable.

 

We do need to be asking ourselves the question as to what point

is being served by undertaking one commission of inquiry after the

other, to prove what we largely already know: that vast amounts of

money are disappearing into a bottomless pit, primarily in

state-owned enterprises of this kind, due to a range of different

reasons, from outright theft and fraud to mismanagement and plain

greed.

 

Again, this is a question that has been asked in the past,

frequently in fact by this newspaper, but answers are never

forthcoming.

 

This again indicates the lack of transparency and accountability

on the part of our ruling elite.

 

Hearings of this kind are nothing more than expensive

window-dressing exercises, designed to give the impression that

something is being done about corruption and mismanagement, but at

the end of the day, the story ends right there.

 

An election year faces us, and it is with regret that we notes

that problem areas such as these play little or no role as far as

either the electorate or those seeking re-election themselves are

concerned.

 

Those appearing before the commission may weep, for one reason

or another, but it is the taxpayers of this country, ultimately,

who should be shedding tears over the incessant and ongoing

revelations of this kind.

 

What type of people are we putting in positions of power and

accountability, both in our Government and through them, in our

state-owned enterprises? Is it not time that we can ask these

questions and expect answers? The reports of most of the various

commissions of inquiry go directly to the President for his

scrutiny and recommendations.

 

Why is it that the matter always seems to end there? As a

consequence people are seen to be getting away with a myriad of

misdeeds.

 

And these are inevitably prominent people in our society, paid

huge salaries, only to further misappropriate at the expense of the

country and its people.

 

We keep hearing the same tired old litany that resources are

scarce, and there is never enough money to fund pressing

socio-economic priorities.

 

Yet resources are plentiful enough it seems, for us to turn a

blind eye to incidences where they are abused.

 

To even the most undiscerning eye, this makes no sense

whatsoever.

 

We would therefore appeal to our head of state, President Sam

Nujoma, to see to it that action is taken timeously against

culprits who are guilty of stealing and/or mismanaging our precious

resources.

 

At least in this manner the high costs of hearings of this

nature would be justified and hopefully, through follow-up actions,

some of the monies can be retrieved.

 

To leave matters such as these too long, means that action comes

too little and too late.

 

The RFA and RA hearings, like several that have preceded them, have

already revealed widescale maladministration, misappropriation and

incompetency among others, and to the huge losses that have been

incurred to the state and the taxpayer in this way, must be added

the cost of the hearings itself, which is also likely to be quite

considerable. We do need to be asking ourselves the question as to

what point is being served by undertaking one commission of inquiry

after the other, to prove what we largely already know: that vast

amounts of money are disappearing into a bottomless pit, primarily

in state-owned enterprises of this kind, due to a range of

different reasons, from outright theft and fraud to mismanagement

and plain greed. Again, this is a question that has been asked in

the past, frequently in fact by this newspaper, but answers are

never forthcoming. This again indicates the lack of transparency

and accountability on the part of our ruling elite. Hearings of

this kind are nothing more than expensive window-dressing

exercises, designed to give the impression that something is being

done about corruption and mismanagement, but at the end of the day,

the story ends right there. An election year faces us, and it is

with regret that we notes that problem areas such as these play

little or no role as far as either the electorate or those seeking

re-election themselves are concerned. Those appearing before the

commission may weep, for one reason or another, but it is the

taxpayers of this country, ultimately, who should be shedding tears

over the incessant and ongoing revelations of this kind. What type

of people are we putting in positions of power and accountability,

both in our Government and through them, in our state-owned

enterprises? Is it not time that we can ask these questions and

expect answers? The reports of most of the various commissions of

inquiry go directly to the President for his scrutiny and

recommendations. Why is it that the matter always seems to end

there? As a consequence people are seen to be getting away with a

myriad of misdeeds. And these are inevitably prominent people in

our society, paid huge salaries, only to further misappropriate at

the expense of the country and its people. We keep hearing the same

tired old litany that resources are scarce, and there is never

enough money to fund pressing socio-economic priorities. Yet

resources are plentiful enough it seems, for us to turn a blind eye

to incidences where they are abused. To even the most undiscerning

eye, this makes no sense whatsoever. We would therefore appeal to

our head of state, President Sam Nujoma, to see to it that action

is taken timeously against culprits who are guilty of stealing

and/or mismanaging our precious resources. At least in this manner

the high costs of hearings of this nature would be justified and

hopefully, through follow-up actions, some of the monies can be

retrieved. To leave matters such as these too long, means that

action comes too little and too late.

---