Political parties have been warned that campaign funding from undisclosed sources or vested interests can compromise their integrity, influence political decision-making and undermine democracy.
National Assembly deputy speaker Phillipus Katamelo issued the warning yesterday at a role-player consultation on political party and campaign financing transparency and integrity in Namibia.
The consultation is organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with support from the Norwegian government.
Katamelo said political success should not only be measured by positions attained or material progress, but by the morality and integrity maintained in achieving those positions.
He cautioned that politicians can become instruments of corruption when they accept campaign funding without understanding the intentions of those providing the money.
“I have never been approached by a politician to be corrupt. Never in my 15, 16, 17 years as an active political officer. But the politician is being used as a means to manifest corruption sometimes,” Katamelo said.
He said businesspeople seeking political influence could wait for individuals to gain power before using campaign funding to advance their interests.
“You are being approached, you are given campaign money, but you don’t know the intention of it,” he said.
Katamelo said regulating political financing should, therefore, not focus only on politicians, but also on those providing the money.
“If they are not subjected to the same high level of moral education that is required, you are not going to solve the problem,” he said.
He urged role-players involved in the consultation to ensure that recommendations are inclusive and based on objective principles.
The UNODC team leader at its corruption and financial crime hub for Africa, Francesco Checchi, yesterday said political financing regulations and practices are directly linked to governance, democracy and the fight against corruption.
He warned that poorly regulated political party finances could have serious consequences, including the exclusion of young people from democratic participation and the misallocation of public resources.
Such weaknesses, Checchi said, also put political parties at risk of corruption while increasing the influence of vested interests and economic elites over political decision-making.
He said unequal access to political participation continues to undermine inclusive governance and public trust in democratic institutions globally.
Checchi said the financing of political parties and electoral processes remains a key driver of these inequalities, particularly where regulatory frameworks and oversight mechanisms are weak.
He added that political parties and electoral campaigns in some countries are vulnerable to illicit financing, including proceeds of corruption and other illicit financial flows.
Last year, member states adopted Resolution 11/7 at the UN Convention against corruption, calling for greater transparency in the funding of political parties, candidates for elected public office and electoral campaigns.
Checchi said the resolution provides a global mandate for states to adopt and implement legislative and administrative measures to strengthen transparency in political financing.
He said stronger regulation and oversight are necessary to protect the integrity of democratic institutions and prevent money from becoming a tool for political influence.
Africa Young Parliamentarian Network executive director Anthony Buluma yesterday said from a Kenyan context, their system is not like Namibia’s because they are not entirely a party based campaign.
“The only thing you need is the party and the actual ground campaign is your own business. The individual has to carry the cost on their own.
“Most politicians, when you tell them to disclose, sometimes see it as a point of weakness and will shy away. While some don’t mind disclosing because they see it as a way to intimidate their opponents that they have enough,” he said.
Buluma said parliament and political parties must leverage consultations of this nature and confront the infiltration by some individuals in parties to manipulate the system through campaign financing.
