This ACC Won’t Beat Corruption

The biggest story in Zambezi this week was about Katima Mulilo councillors dubiously giving away 31 hectares (ha) (about 31 football fields) of prime riverbank land for two used cars, two new quad bikes, three second-hand quad bikes, a survey drone and two laptops.

Enter Namibia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) with a media statement saying it had pounced on a former police officer for pocketing N$750 from traffic fines.

Just how low can Paulus Noa’s ACC sink and continue to defend itself against criticism that it always targets ‘small fish’?

These two contrasting cases have exposed the weaknesses and hypocrisy that hobble Namibia’s anti-corruption machinery.

The ACC, which often complains about inadequate funding, spends its meagre resources cracking down on petty graft, while grand corruption like questionable land deals are done under their noses.

New rural development minister James Sankwasa exposed the Swapo-led Katima Mulilo Town Council’s decision to exchange 31ha of public land to influential businessman Sindila Mwiya in return for vehicles and electronics.

The glaring disparity in response reveals a broken system, run by leaders in denial, defenders of the status quo, or both.

It’s the kind of double standard George Orwell warned about in ‘Animal Farm’ – where some are held to the rules, and others stand above them.

The Katima Mulilo case is just the tip of the iceberg.

Namibia is no stranger to corruption in the land sector.

For years, Namibian councillors have treated public land like a personal buffet, dishing out plots to themselves and their allies without consequence.

The schemes may look official on paper, but the intent is the same.

By using dubious but legal methods such as private treaties, the system has been abused to allocate unoccupied land.

The same system has shielded councillors from the consequences of their deals, allowing them to act with near impunity.

We agree with National Democratic Party president and member of parliament Martin Lukato, who described the transaction as irregular.

“The land should be returned and appropriate action must be taken because this is a very serious matter. Corrupt officials have gone unpunished for far too long, stealing from the state,” he has said.

Lukato was equally right to point out that the questionable land transaction at Katima Mulilo is not limited to ‘Region One’, as the Zambezi region is popularly known.

Yet, despite the glaring abuses, the ACC has chosen to go after minor cases such as the N$750 traffic ticket case.

At Oshakati, councillors have, over the years, helped enrich businessman Erastus ‘Chicco’ Shapumba and others by selling plots for next to nothing. Even the town’s open market was handed to Shapumba for a fraction of its value.

At Opuwo, Shapumba acquired a sport stadium for N$1.3 million and later flipped it for N$5 million – without making any improvements.

The government is now scrambling to build a new stadium to replace it.

Here’s the troubling part: Nothing happened to the officials or councillors who all but gave away public assets. Not at Opuwo. Not at Oshakati.

This pattern reflects a systematic failure under Swapo-led municipalities. It’s good and well when Sankwasa exposes these deals, but officials who loot will continue if drastic measures or systematic changes are not enforced.

Sophia Shaningwa, now Swapo secretary general, started off strongly during her time as urban development minister by exposing dubious land deals.

At one point, she even instructed the City of Windhoek to reverse several suspect transactions.

But in the end, she failed to fix the very system that allowed councillors to grab land in broad daylight.

In essence, these interventions risk coming across as political theatre – more about managing public perception and personal ambition than fixing a broken system.

At this rate the ACC cannot even differentiate between petty theft and complex grand corruption.

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