Swapo urged to walk the talk on corruption

Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) executive director and political commentator Graham Hopwood has implored the ruling party to do some introspection and reassert its stance on dealing with corrupt elements in the party.

This comes after Swapo vice president and minister of international relations and cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at Swapo’s final Oshana star rally at Oshakati on Saturday expressed her disappointment in senior officials of the Oshana Regional Council, who are allegedly involved in corrupt activities.

Nandi-Ndatiwah said “serious corruption” was discovered within the regional council after some officials tried to sabotage and pocket funds meant for the construction of about five earth dams earlier this year.

‘INTEGRITY CANDIDATE’

Hopwood yesterday said Nandi-Ndaitwah has styled herself as the ‘integrity candidate’.

This is a sign that there are problems in Swapo as integrity should be its default position, he said.

“The party has clearly not self-corrected after Fishrot, despite vowing to do so. For example, the Marine Resources Act remains untouched, and the party has not indicated how it has cleaned up its fundraising, despite evidence that Fishrot funds went to Swapo-linked entities.

“Those who oversaw the collapse of SME Bank remain in senior positions. These are just some examples of the lack of political will to tackle corruption and misgovernance,” he said.

Hopwood said it is too early to judge Nandi-Ndaitwah’s ability to cleanse the party of corrupt elements.

“But one thing she could do to demonstrate her integrity is to reveal the sources of all the substantial donations to her presidential campaign,” he said.

STEALING FROM THE POOR

Nandi-Ndaitwah said many people in rural areas are currently faced with dire water shortages and the construction of earth dams in the region is meant to minimise the effects of flooding and to harvest rainwater for later use.

She said people who are anti-development, however, undermined the process.

“Serious corruption was found, and I cannot allow that process to continue. Out of the 11 earth dams that were to be constructed in Oshana region, about four had to be stopped, because serious corruption was found, and the rest are currently being constructed.

“I gave money from my own pocket for the construction of an earth dam at Okaku, but the construction had to be halted due to serious corruption.

“Corruption is rife in this country, and I want to thank the leadership of the Oshana region for unearthing such corrupt activities.

“I want to instruct the governor of the Oshana region to approach lawyers immediately and make sure those earth dams are constructed before the next rainy season,” she said.

DOUBLE DIPPING

According to sources who prefer to remain anonymous, officials responsible for the tendering process at the Oshana Regional Council allegedly awarded the earth dam tenders to close connections and relatives who lack construction knowledge and equipment.

Some of these companies have been in operation for less than two months, the sources say.

The regional council was awarded an amount of N$15 million by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform to construct earth dams in various constituencies in the region to harvest floodwater.

“As party members it is our responsibility to deliver quality services. You will be surprised if some of those people involved in the awarding of these earth dam tenders are Swapo members. Those are not true Swapo members.

“True Swapo members believe in solidarity, and you cannot cheat when you believe in solidarity. So, therefore, comrades, you should not destroy the people who entrusted us.

“We must fight corruption. If there was no corruption, today we were going to have earth dams in Oshana region,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
The Namibian previously reported that Oshana chief regional officer Teopolina Hamutumwa said the budget for the earth dams includes the excavation, construction and rehabilitation of these dams in the constituencies which are mostly affected by floods.

“The tender for about five earth dams was advertised earlier this year . . . however, we had to cancel it immediately when we noticed some technical irregularities.

“Everything was done, and we were just about to award the tender to the successful bidder, but we had to stop it due to technical problems within the procurement process.

“We have handed the matter over to the Anti-Corruption Commission to allow for further investigations,” she said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah further urged party members to gear up for next year’s presidential and National Assembly elections.

‘NOT FIRM’

Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah says Swapo has not been firm on corruption.

“Had it been, a lot of its members would have been dismissed or suspended. More than 50% of people implicated in corruption in this country are Swapo members.

“Fighting corruption was never Swapo’s ideology during the liberation struggle. All the party wanted was to replace the colonial masters, and then become the new masters to further plunder the country.

“They never recalled or fired all their members who were implemplicated in corruption. The party’ s response to the Fishrot case is pathetic.

“Everybody knows individual Swapo members were funded to vote in a certain way through the Fishrot.

“A party that is serious about corruption would have instituted an investigation. But what did the party do? Reward them with party and government positions,” he says.