‘Govt should lead by example in fight against corruption’

THE leader of a new civil society organisation has lambasted Government for not leading through example in the fight against corruption.

Carola Engelbrecht, former Republican Party (RP) member and now spokesperson for the newly established body, Citizens for an Accountable and Transparent Society (CATS), says instead of continuing to waste resources on workshops that fail to deliver results, Government and the ruling Swapo party need to focus on helping the average citizen to refrain from and fight graft. “We can argue and whine that it is unfair to focus criticism on Government and the ruling party, but fact is, the one entity that impacts on the life of everyone living or conducting business in Namibia is the ruling party,” Engelbrecht said on Thursday.She was speaking as a panellist during a public discussion in Windhoek to mark National Anti-Corruption Week.Questioning Government’s commitment to the elimination of corruption, Engelbrecht wanted to know why a number of reports by Presidential Commissions of Inquiry have not yet been published.”If the reports did not clearly identify culprits, they surely have identified suspects and made recommendations for further investigations.Why have no further publicly reported investigations happened during all those years …despite ongoing public demand?” she asked.The investigations she referred to include the Social Security Commission (SSC) and Offshore Development Company (ODC) scandals.”The culprits under scrutiny by the commissions of inquiry stole taxpayers’ money.The inquiries were financed with taxpayers’ money and many of the suspects still hold the same positions, or have been silently recycled or moved to other grand positions, or are on suspension with full pay from taxpayers’ pockets,” she protested.The former politician had strong words for ACC Director Paulus Noa and President Hifikepunye Pohamba.”What has happened since that first courageous, seemingly fearless announcement – prosecution of the guilty without fear or favour? This statement made Namibians of all backgrounds sit up and take note, because that meant that even the highest-ranking individuals would not escape.The nation was so desperate and overjoyed to finally have someone in the highest office whom they could trust,” she said of Pohamba’s ‘Zero Tolerance for Corruption’ campaign.”Yet nothing has come of these promises.Is that what the incumbent President wants his legacy to be? The Namibian President who gave us the most hope and left us, the citizens, dangling in the air unprotected against the greed of his own elitist comrades?” she said.The ACC’s Noa, during his presentation, said the Commission was doing as much as possible with the little means available to it.He said investigations into complaints were prolonged by people using the ACC to try and settle personal vendettas, while many of the complaints they receive could more easily be settled by companies internally, as they were more of an administrative nature.People are very eager to report allegations of corruption, but often don’t have evidence to back up their claims, Noa said.With regard to the high-profile SSC case involving the now defunct Avid Investment Corporation, Noa said all investigations inside Namibia had been completed.He said the ACC’s investigations were now at a stage where co-operation with international law enforcement agencies was necessary, which was slowing down progress.The discussion was jointly hosted by the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID).”We can argue and whine that it is unfair to focus criticism on Government and the ruling party, but fact is, the one entity that impacts on the life of everyone living or conducting business in Namibia is the ruling party,” Engelbrecht said on Thursday.She was speaking as a panellist during a public discussion in Windhoek to mark National Anti-Corruption Week.Questioning Government’s commitment to the elimination of corruption, Engelbrecht wanted to know why a number of reports by Presidential Commissions of Inquiry have not yet been published.”If the reports did not clearly identify culprits, they surely have identified suspects and made recommendations for further investigations.Why have no further publicly reported investigations happened during all those years …despite ongoing public demand?” she asked.The investigations she referred to include the Social Security Commission (SSC) and Offshore Development Company (ODC) scandals.”The culprits under scrutiny by the commissions of inquiry stole taxpayers’ money.The inquiries were financed with taxpayers’ money and many of the suspects still hold the same positions, or have been silently recycled or moved to other grand positions, or are on suspension with full pay from taxpayers’ pockets,” she protested.The former politician had strong words for ACC Director Paulus Noa and President Hifikepunye Pohamba.”What has happened since that first courageous, seemingly fearless announcement – prosecution of the guilty without fear or favour? This statement made Namibians of all backgrounds sit up and take note, because that meant that even the highest-ranking individuals would not escape.The nation was so desperate and overjoyed to finally have someone in the highest office whom they could trust,” she said of Pohamba’s ‘Zero Tolerance for Corruption’ campaign.”Yet nothing has come of these promises.Is that what the incumbent President wants his legacy to be? The Namibian President who gave us the most hope and left us, the citizens, dangling in the air unprotected against the greed of his own elitist comrades?” she said.The ACC’s Noa, during his presentation, said the Commission was doing as much as possible with the little means available to it.He said investigations into complaints were prolonged by people using the ACC to try and settle personal vendettas, while many of the complaints they receive could more easily be settled by companies internally, as they were more of an administrative nature.People are very eager to report allegations of corruption, but often don’t have evidence to back up their claims, Noa said.With regard to the high-profile SSC case involving the now defunct Avid Investment Corporation, Noa said all investigations inside Namibia had been completed.He said the ACC’s investigations were now at a stage where co-operation with international law enforcement agencies was necessary, which was slowing down progress.The discussion was jointly hosted by the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Namibia Institute for Democracy (NID).