NSHR report notes rise in corruption

CORRUPTION in Namibia has increased, with one in three Namibians experiencing corruption at State institutions, the National Society for Human Rights said, quoting a study by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Executive Director of the NSHR Phil ya Nangoloh said yesterday when he presented the annual rights report that people who fell victim to corruption, or knew someone who had fallen victim, increased from 34 per cent to 45 per cent last year. This was largely due to a lack of an anti-corruption commission, with instructions on accountability and transparency “totally ignored without fear” by top civil servants and State secretaries, Ya Nangoloh said, quoting the Deputy Director of the Office of the Auditor General Jeff Kauaria in this respect.Yet, at the same time, the Government had cut back on programmes that directly affected the majority of people, while increasing defence expenditure’s cut of the national budget to 12 per cent.”This has led to widespread criticism (… and) questioning the wisdom of expenditure in the absence of internal or external security threats,” Ya Nangoloh said.Political human rights appeared to be improving in Namibia, with fewer violations reported, Ya Nangoloh said.”The incidence of hate expression, name-calling and threatening finger pointing has also decreased exponentially towards the end of 2004,” while reports of extra-judicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and prolonged detentions have also decreased considerably, he said.”There appears to be hope for our country in some respects,” Ya Nangoloh said.He attributed this to the abatement of the “totalitarian democracy” that characterised former President Sam Nujoma’s rule.”This situation can be attributed to the departure of the 15-year exclusionist and autocratic rule of veteran founding President Sam Nujoma, coupled with the promising entrance of the tolerant, humble, reconciliatory, inclusionist and meritocratic (Hifikepunye Pohamba) regime,” he said.This new political climate appears to have led to a decrease in politically motivated human rights violations, with only 10 incidents of summary executions or hate crimes reported to the NSHR, compared to 17 last year.Other killings – i.e.ones not exclusively motivated by politics – decreased to 12 for the past year, compared to 27 cases in the year before.Basic human rights, such as the right to work, to education and to good healthcare, have deteriorated markedly, he said, with poverty threatening up 75 per cent of some rural households.Life expectancy has fallen markedly from 57 years to 40 years, while the mortality rate for children under five has shot up by 27 per cent in the Khomas Region alone.”It must be emphasised that the NSHR operates from the perspective that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible, interdependent and inter-related,” he said in explaining how economic, environmental and social rights had deteriorated dangerously in their view.In this respect, the NSHR warned that the high school dropout rate of nearly 50 per cent, the majority of whom were girls, had led to a “high-cost, low-quality educational system.”The NSHR also took aim at the increase in hunger among Namibians, quoting UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) figures that 30 per cent of families were now unable to provide their children with adequate food.”This resulted in 24 per cent of children suffering from stunting, 24 per cent being underweight, 9 per cent being wasted and 2 per cent suffering from severe malnutrition,” Ya Nangoloh said.The San communities in the Ohangwena, Oshikoto and Omaheke regions, as well as the communities in Caprivi, Hardap and Karas regions, were particularly badly affected in this respect.* John Grobler is a freelance journalist.johngrob@iway.naThis was largely due to a lack of an anti-corruption commission, with instructions on accountability and transparency “totally ignored without fear” by top civil servants and State secretaries, Ya Nangoloh said, quoting the Deputy Director of the Office of the Auditor General Jeff Kauaria in this respect.Yet, at the same time, the Government had cut back on programmes that directly affected the majority of people, while increasing defence expenditure’s cut of the national budget to 12 per cent.”This has led to widespread criticism (… and) questioning the wisdom of expenditure in the absence of internal or external security threats,” Ya Nangoloh said.Political human rights appeared to be improving in Namibia, with fewer violations reported, Ya Nangoloh said.”The incidence of hate expression, name-calling and threatening finger pointing has also decreased exponentially towards the end of 2004,” while reports of extra-judicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and prolonged detentions have also decreased considerably, he said.”There appears to be hope for our country in some respects,” Ya Nangoloh said.He attributed this to the abatement of the “totalitarian democracy” that characterised former President Sam Nujoma’s rule.”This situation can be attributed to the departure of the 15-year exclusionist and autocratic rule of veteran founding President Sam Nujoma, coupled with the promising entrance of the tolerant, humble, reconciliatory, inclusionist and meritocratic (Hifikepunye Pohamba) regime,” he said.This new political climate appears to have led to a decrease in politically motivated human rights violations, with only 10 incidents of summary executions or hate crimes reported to the NSHR, compared to 17 last year.Other killings – i.e.ones not exclusively motivated by politics – decreased to 12 for the past year, compared to 27 cases in the year before.Basic human rights, such as the right to work, to education and to good healthcare, have deteriorated markedly, he said, with poverty threatening up 75 per cent of some rural households.Life expectancy has fallen markedly from 57 years to 40 years, while the mortality rate for children under five has shot up by 27 per cent in the Khomas Region alone.”It must be emphasised that the NSHR operates from the perspective that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible, interdependent and inter-related,” he said in explaining how economic, environmental and social rights had deteriorated dangerously in their view.In this respect, the NSHR warned that the high school dropout rate of nearly 50 per cent, the majority of whom were girls, had led to a “high-cost, low-quality educational system.”The NSHR also took aim at the increase in hunger among Namibians, quoting UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) figures that 30 per cent of families were now unable to provide their children with adequate food.”This resulted in 24 per cent of children suffering from stunting, 24 per cent being underweight, 9 per cent being wasted and 2 per cent suffering from severe malnutrition,” Ya Nangoloh said.The San communities in the Ohangwena, Oshikoto and Omaheke regions, as well as the communities in Caprivi, Hardap and Karas regions, were particularly badly affected in this respect. * John Grobler is a freelance journalist.johngrob@iway.na