DTA MP De Waal wants ‘white crooks’ exposed

DTA Member of Parliament Johan de Waal yesterday asked the National Assembly to consider backdating a bill aimed at combating money laundering to 2003, so that a “small group of white people” who had committed fraud during this time, could face the consequences.

Delivering his remarks on the Financial Intelligence Bill, De Waal said he knew of a group of white people who were “misusing their knowledge and experience to commit fraud in a number of ways”. “This small group of white people are not only doing the country harm but they are also bringing the white people of this country into disrepute,” said De Waal.”What is even worse is that they are using the ignorance and the weakness of some of our previously disadvantaged people to do their dirty work for them.”Quite out of the ordinary during a contribution made from the opposition benches, De Waal received two rounds of applause from both sides of the House during his remarks.He asked the Ministers of Finance and Justice, both of whom were not in the House at the time, to consider making the bill retroactive to March 21, 2003.He said since companies are required to keep their documents for at least three years, there would be no problem investigating their operations from that date.De Waal said while it was not normal procedure for Parliament to pass retroactive laws, in his opinion Government was fully within its rights to do so because money laundering had always been outlawed in Namibia.”We will thus not harm anybody by backdating the bill, instead it is simply a strengthening of our law-enforcement efforts to rein in crooks that in any case have committed a crime and who should be brought to book for it,” said De Waal.Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila introduced the Financial Intelligence Bill in the National Assembly last week.It would give the Bank of Namibia the backing to collect, access and analyse financial intelligence data as well as freeze accounts and seize assets of institutions under investigation.The bill would require a broad spectrum of individuals and institutions, including legal practitioners, accountants, gambling places, micro-lenders, trust administrators, estate agents and the supervisory authorities that regulate their activities, to submit reports on their operations.De Waal used the platform of the National Assembly to warn the “small group” he said he knew of, that while they might have become rich overnight, they were doing immense harm to the good name of the majority of white Namibians.”Your actions are irresponsible, inexcusable and unforgivable and you will be brought to book at the appropriate time and via the appropriate channels,” said De Waal.”Having said that, I do not pretend that there are not also previously disadvantaged crooks.There are many of them and the same message must also go to them.”De Waal went on to point out some technical problems in the bill – among these that an entire section referred to in other sections had not been included in the printed form of the bill.He said he was concerned that as the duties and functions of the Bank of Namibia, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Auditor General and the Anti-Corruption Commission were very similar when it came to investigating financial crime, their roles had to be clearly spelled out to the public.He said it could happen that all four institutions could end up investigating the same case as reported by the same individual, or even different ones.De Waal proposed that the bill be amended to make the reserve bank Governor or the Auditor General the convenor of a compulsory monthly meeting between the four institutions to compare notes on the types of investigations they were conducting.He further requested the Finance Minister to make it compulsory for businesses operating in Namibia to open an account at a local bank.He said he was concerned that the transactions of some businesses may not be traceable and that the law would have no effect on them.De Waal said it was well known that many businesses conducted cash-only transactions.He said it was also necessary for Government to clamp down on business people leaving Namibia through its airports and other exit points with loads of cash, often US dollars, in their luggage.Minister Without Portfolio Ngarikutuke Tjiriange said he was concerned about the emergence of a black market in Namibia.He said he knew of a number of foreign-operated businesses in Namibia who were illegally exchanging money and who left the country with wads of US dollars.The debate continues next week.”This small group of white people are not only doing the country harm but they are also bringing the white people of this country into disrepute,” said De Waal.”What is even worse is that they are using the ignorance and the weakness of some of our previously disadvantaged people to do their dirty work for them.”Quite out of the ordinary during a contribution made from the opposition benches, De Waal received two rounds of applause from both sides of the House during his remarks.He asked the Ministers of Finance and Justice, both of whom were not in the House at the time, to consider making the bill retroactive to March 21, 2003.He said since companies are required to keep their documents for at least three years, there would be no problem investigating their operations from that date.De Waal said while it was not normal procedure for Parliament to pass retroactive laws, in his opinion Government was fully within its rights to do so because money laundering had always been outlawed in Namibia.”We will thus not harm anybody by backdating the bill, instead it is simply a strengthening of our law-enforcement efforts to rein in crooks that in any case have committed a crime and who should be brought to book for it,” said De Waal.Finance Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila introduced the Financial Intelligence Bill in the National Assembly last week. It would give the Bank of Namibia the backing to collect, access and analyse financial intelligence data as well as freeze accounts and seize assets of institutions under investigation.The bill would require a broad spectrum of individuals and institutions, including legal practitioners, accountants, gambling places, micro-lenders, trust administrators, estate agents and the supervisory authorities that regulate their activities, to submit reports on their operations.De Waal used the platform of the National Assembly to warn the “small group” he said he knew of, that while they might have become rich overnight, they were doing immense harm to the good name of the majority of white Namibians.”Your actions are irresponsible, inexcusable and unforgivable and you will be brought to book at the appropriate time and via the appropriate channels,” said De Waal.”Having said that, I do not pretend that there are not also previously disadvantaged crooks.There are many of them and the same message must also go to them.”De Waal went on to point out some technical problems in the bill – among these that an entire section referred to in other sections had not been included in the printed form of the bill.He said he was concerned that as the duties and functions of the Bank of Namibia, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Auditor General and the Anti-Corruption Commission were very similar when it came to investigating financial crime, their roles had to be clearly spelled out to the public.He said it could happen that all four institutions could end up investigating the same case as reported by the same individual, or even different ones.De Waal proposed that the bill be amended to make the reserve bank Governor or the Auditor General the convenor of a compulsory monthly meeting between the four institutions to compare notes on the types of investigations they were conducting.He further requested the Finance Minister to make it compulsory for businesses operating in Namibia to open an account at a local bank.He said he was concerned that the transactions of some businesses may not be traceable and that the law would have no effect on them.De Waal said it was well known that many businesses conducted cash-only transactions.He said it was also necessary for Government to clamp down on business people leaving Namibia through its airports and other exit points with loads of cash, often US dollars, in their luggage.Minister Without Portfolio Ngarikutuke Tjiriange said he was concerned about the emergence of a black market in Namibia.He said he knew of a number of foreign-operated businesses in Namibia who were illegally exchanging money and who left the country with wads of US dollars.The debate continues next week.