Call For Omaruru Probe by Anti-Corruption Commision

I AM surprised to read that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is acting on newspaper reports about corruption.

The ACC is investigating the Karas Regional Council after it read reports of corruption which involves the Chief Regional Officer. The ACC is now on its way to investigate the Ondangwa Town Council whereas corruption in the Omaruru municipality was reported several times in the newspapers way earlier than these incidents.Can Mr Noa inform the residents of Omaruru how to go about it to get their plea for an investigation honoured by the ACC? It is very unfair and disappointing to see the Anti-Corruption Commission operating selectively.I am not living in Omaruru but I was born and grew up in Omaruru and feel very distressed to see what was one of the best-managed municipalities going down.Omaruru is very close to my heart because it is my hometown.I have been following developments in the Omaruru municipality since last year.There were reports in the newspapers about gross malpractices and corruption in the municipality.I am informed the ACC also received reports with well-documented evidence from individual members of the community, some local and regional councillors, about corrupt practices in the municipality but the ACC is reluctant to take action for unknown reasons.Last year I had the opportunity to attend an ordinary municipal council meeting in Omaruru.Majority of the seven councillors did not say a word throughout the meeting apart from raising their hands in support of proposals.On the contrary the chairperson of the council did about fifty percent of the talking during the meeting.With due respect to the councillors, from what I have observed at the council meeting, I must say frankly speaking the political parties do a disservice to the community of Omaruru by putting councillors of such low quality at a fundamental level of governance.It is high time that the political parties start to play their patriotic role to put forward candidates with some basic leadership attributes.”You just cannot become a pastor if you cannot speak “.The same goes for the councillors, they cannot represent the community silently.It is really very painful to learn the council of Omaruru received a grant of N$800 000 from the Ministry of Local Government to provide toilets for Hakahana informal settlement.This money was deposited in the municipality account almost a year ago.The project never got off the ground because the councillors are too preoccupied with their egocentric agendas at the expense of the suffering community.Omaruru councillors simply believe they are irreplaceable and immune from prosecution for corrupt decisions and therefore continue to operate with impunity.I really appeal to the ACC, Mr Noa in particular, to urgently launch a serious investigation into the operations of the Omaruru municipality.The councillors are ultimately accountable to the electorate, thus they must be taken to task to set an example for the others.Fed Up Via e-mail Note: Name and address provided – EdThe ACC is now on its way to investigate the Ondangwa Town Council whereas corruption in the Omaruru municipality was reported several times in the newspapers way earlier than these incidents.Can Mr Noa inform the residents of Omaruru how to go about it to get their plea for an investigation honoured by the ACC? It is very unfair and disappointing to see the Anti-Corruption Commission operating selectively.I am not living in Omaruru but I was born and grew up in Omaruru and feel very distressed to see what was one of the best-managed municipalities going down.Omaruru is very close to my heart because it is my hometown.I have been following developments in the Omaruru municipality since last year.There were reports in the newspapers about gross malpractices and corruption in the municipality.I am informed the ACC also received reports with well-documented evidence from individual members of the community, some local and regional councillors, about corrupt practices in the municipality but the ACC is reluctant to take action for unknown reasons.Last year I had the opportunity to attend an ordinary municipal council meeting in Omaruru.Majority of the seven councillors did not say a word throughout the meeting apart from raising their hands in support of proposals.On the contrary the chairperson of the council did about fifty percent of the talking during the meeting.With due respect to the councillors, from what I have observed at the council meeting, I must say frankly speaking the political parties do a disservice to the community of Omaruru by putting councillors of such low quality at a fundamental level of governance.It is high time that the political parties start to play their patriotic role to put forward candidates with some basic leadership attributes.”You just cannot become a pastor if you cannot speak “.The same goes for the councillors, they cannot represent the community silently.It is really very painful to learn the council of Omaruru received a grant of N$800 000 from the Ministry of Local Government to provide toilets for Hakahana informal settlement.This money was deposited in the municipality account almost a year ago.The project never got off the ground because the councillors are too preoccupied with their egocentric agendas at the expense of the suffering community.Omaruru councillors simply believe they are irreplaceable and immune from prosecution for corrupt decisions and therefore continue to operate with impunity.I really appeal to the ACC, Mr Noa in particular, to urgently launch a serious investigation into the operations of the Omaruru municipality.The councillors are ultimately accountable to the electorate, thus they must be taken to task to set an example for the others. Fed Up Via e-mail Note: Name and address provided – Ed