Kandjii- Murangi
Higher education minister Dr Itah Kandjii-Murangi has dismissed corruption claims levelled against her by Affirmative Repositioning (AR) activist Job Amupanda, saying she does not know what he wants to achieve with his crusade against her.
In an interview with Namibian Sun yesterday, Kandjii-Murangi said she did not pocket money illegally from any institution and that her legal team is looking into the accusations made by Amupanda on social media.
Amupanda has repeatedly accused her of looting the coffers of parastatals that report to her ministry to fund her globetrotting to several international meetings related to higher education.
It has long been claimed by the activist that Kandjii-Murangi requests additional funds even when her trips are fully-funded by organisers.
‘Corrupt’ minister
In his latest viral social media post, Amupanda branded Kandjii-Murangi a corrupt minister who allegedly coerced the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) office in her ministry to pay her a subsistence and travel (S&T) allowance for an all-expenses-paid trip to New York.
“On 25 January 2023, Unesco invited corrupt higher education minister Kandjii-Murangi to a side event to take place in New York on 6 and 7 March. This was an all-expenses-paid trip. On top of that, Unesco indeed paid the corrupt minister US$500 per day. She thus got paid more than N$200 000 by Unesco on top of all expenses paid,” he claimed.
“She instructed the Unesco Namibia office, hosted in her ministry and for which she is the chairperson, to pay money into her personal bank account just for her, since all [expenses] are paid. Unesco Namibia has a separate bank account to avoid abuse of funds. As a result, more than N$400 000 that was meant for Unesco-funded projects and contracts seemingly found its way into the pocket of the corrupt minister,” the post read.
He furthered that when Unesco International discovered this and questioned the payments, Kandjii-Murangi allegedly tried to force the financial staff in her ministry to swiftly repay the money, instead of repaying it from her own accounts.
“The financial advisor refused and ostensibly resigned. Not only did the corrupt minister pocket close to N$700 000 during this all-expenses-paid trip, she brought a serious international scandal and sabotaged our country as Unesco is ostensibly contemplating stopping funding projects in Namibia. This is only the tip of the iceberg,” Amupanda wrote.
‘Can’t be discredited’
When Namibian Sun contacted Kandjii-Murangii to comment on these claims, she simply said: “I am not corrupt and I cannot be discredited by anyone, at least not by someone like him [Amupanda]. I can only be discredited by the Namibian people I serve,” she said.
She further said she is not involved in the processing of her S&T allowance, adding: “There is nothing untoward, because when I travel I do not calculate and work out those payments. I can tell you there was nothing untoward.
“Those things [allowances] are administrative issues. You want me to give Job the prominence he does not deserve. Please wait to hear from those in the administrative department who deal with this,” she said.
The under-fire minister concluded by saying: “Each time I leave the shores of my motherland, I go to represent my country and my ministry to the best of my abilities”.
We will respond
Higher education ministry executive director Dr Alfred van Kent said an official response is being prepared and will be handled by Waldo Junius, the head of the national commission for Unesco.
“The minister wants to respond [today]. What I can say is that all the trips the minister went on are approved. Although amounts reflected on social media could be inflated, all calculations were done by the ministry.
“For example, Unesco invited the minister and paid her S&T. Not N$200 000, but about N$20 000. There is nothing wrong with that. I need the documents to provide accurate details of all the trips [the minister went on].”
Junius confirmed that they will issue a statement today.
[email protected]
In an interview with Namibian Sun yesterday, Kandjii-Murangi said she did not pocket money illegally from any institution and that her legal team is looking into the accusations made by Amupanda on social media.
Amupanda has repeatedly accused her of looting the coffers of parastatals that report to her ministry to fund her globetrotting to several international meetings related to higher education.
It has long been claimed by the activist that Kandjii-Murangi requests additional funds even when her trips are fully-funded by organisers.
‘Corrupt’ minister
In his latest viral social media post, Amupanda branded Kandjii-Murangi a corrupt minister who allegedly coerced the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) office in her ministry to pay her a subsistence and travel (S&T) allowance for an all-expenses-paid trip to New York.
“On 25 January 2023, Unesco invited corrupt higher education minister Kandjii-Murangi to a side event to take place in New York on 6 and 7 March. This was an all-expenses-paid trip. On top of that, Unesco indeed paid the corrupt minister US$500 per day. She thus got paid more than N$200 000 by Unesco on top of all expenses paid,” he claimed.
“She instructed the Unesco Namibia office, hosted in her ministry and for which she is the chairperson, to pay money into her personal bank account just for her, since all [expenses] are paid. Unesco Namibia has a separate bank account to avoid abuse of funds. As a result, more than N$400 000 that was meant for Unesco-funded projects and contracts seemingly found its way into the pocket of the corrupt minister,” the post read.
He furthered that when Unesco International discovered this and questioned the payments, Kandjii-Murangi allegedly tried to force the financial staff in her ministry to swiftly repay the money, instead of repaying it from her own accounts.
“The financial advisor refused and ostensibly resigned. Not only did the corrupt minister pocket close to N$700 000 during this all-expenses-paid trip, she brought a serious international scandal and sabotaged our country as Unesco is ostensibly contemplating stopping funding projects in Namibia. This is only the tip of the iceberg,” Amupanda wrote.
‘Can’t be discredited’
When Namibian Sun contacted Kandjii-Murangii to comment on these claims, she simply said: “I am not corrupt and I cannot be discredited by anyone, at least not by someone like him [Amupanda]. I can only be discredited by the Namibian people I serve,” she said.
She further said she is not involved in the processing of her S&T allowance, adding: “There is nothing untoward, because when I travel I do not calculate and work out those payments. I can tell you there was nothing untoward.
“Those things [allowances] are administrative issues. You want me to give Job the prominence he does not deserve. Please wait to hear from those in the administrative department who deal with this,” she said.
The under-fire minister concluded by saying: “Each time I leave the shores of my motherland, I go to represent my country and my ministry to the best of my abilities”.
We will respond
Higher education ministry executive director Dr Alfred van Kent said an official response is being prepared and will be handled by Waldo Junius, the head of the national commission for Unesco.
“The minister wants to respond [today]. What I can say is that all the trips the minister went on are approved. Although amounts reflected on social media could be inflated, all calculations were done by the ministry.
“For example, Unesco invited the minister and paid her S&T. Not N$200 000, but about N$20 000. There is nothing wrong with that. I need the documents to provide accurate details of all the trips [the minister went on].”
Junius confirmed that they will issue a statement today.
[email protected]
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