ACC drops Chinese bursary probe

By: SELMA SHIPANGA

ALMOST four years after the lid was first opened on the controversial bursaries awarded to the children of Namibia’s top government officials by the Chinese Embassy, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has revealed that its investigations into the matter never established any answers to the questions about the criteria used and why only children of ‘elite’ benefitted from the scheme.

ACC Director Paulus Noa told The Namibian on Friday that theirs was a preliminary inquiry into the matter that never received any answers from the Chinese embassy in the country.
“We tried to find out from the former Chinese Ambassador at the time about how the bursaries were awarded or the criteria used, but we never got any answers from them.
The Office of the President at some point gave an explanation that the daughter of the President who is one of the beneficiaries of these bursaries got it after she applied on her own and only notified her parents afterwards. We were however able to establish that the bursaries were not awarded through the Ministry of Education,” Noa said.
The Namibian tried to get answers from current ambassador Xin Shunkang on Friday but the embassy’s phones went unanswered.
Then Education Permanent Secretary, Vitalis Ankama told the media in 2009 that the Ministry had nothing to do with awarding the bursaries to children of the political elite.
Revelations about the bursaries sparked a public outcry as people questioned how only children of the elite got the scholarships to study in China.
Despite several media reports on this issue, it is still not known how many scholarships in total were awarded over the years, and the basis on which they were allocated.
Then Education Minister Nangolo Mbumba said he could not speak on behalf of the Chinese government, and neither could he force the Chinese embassy to say how many these bursaries were awarded.
“You cannot bribe someone with a bursary,” Mbumba was quoted saying when asked why it was mostly the children of government elite who had benefitted.
Apart from the President’s daughter, Ndapanda, Safety and Security Minister Charles Namoloh’s son Justus, Ernesto Ndeitunga, son of Namibian Police Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga, and Phillip Esau, son of Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Bernhard Esau, are reportedly listed as some of the beneficiaries of the controversial scholarships.
Other notable recipients include Lenna ya Kasita, Minister Henock ya Kasita’s daughter, Naukalemo Nghimtina, Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina’s daughter, and Patrick Lungameni Mushimba, who is said to be related to former First Lady Kovambo Nujoma.
The weekly tabloid Informante reported in 2009 that current Home Affairs Minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana’s daughter, Pendukeni, and Nathanael Pashto Nghidinwa, son of the Minister of Gender Equality and Social Welfare Rosalia Nghidinwa, also benefited.
The scholarships saga has been heavily cirticised by opposition parties, the Namibia National Student’s Organisation (Nanso) and the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) .
Some of the beneficiaries of the scholarships are reportedly in their final year of studies.

---