ACC takes aim at city officials

Several City of Windhoek officials accused of corruption are under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

This confirmation comes in the wake of Windhoek boss Robert Kahimise's vow to clean up the city's toxic culture of self-enrichment, especially in relation to crooked land deals and other alleged practices of corruption.

“Yes, the ACC is aware of alleged corruption practices at the City of Windhoek, and is currently investigating such allegations,” ACC spokesperson Josefina Nghituwamata confirmed yesterday.

She said while they could not yet disclose how many officials are being investigated, “several cases” based on allegations of corruption or fraud are being investigated.

The ACC will release more details once the investigations are completed, she said.

Kahimise recently released a no-holds-barred statement in which he confirmed he was served with charges related to serious allegations of mismanagement and other alleged wrongdoings “which warranted dismissal”.

He took the opportunity, however, to link these allegations to attempts to discredit him and his ongoing goal of cleaning up the city and improving service delivery.

He said he remains “resolute at all costs” to tackle the headwinds he is facing to “ensure that the city, as a public entity, transforms into an equitable, sustainable public entity that focuses primarily on service delivery”.

Kahimise claimed much of the infighting at the city is not necessarily about him or recently returned City Police chief Abraham Kanime, but that they were “easy targets for the purpose of directing attention from the bigger issues at play”.



Toxicity

“It is no secret that the city was embroiled in unethical behaviours involving underhand land deals and bribery for the allocation of land, involving very highly-placed individuals,” Kahimise charged.

He claimed several city officials, including some occupying “clerical positions” have amassed millions through corrupt dealings, and now own multiple properties, which many have registered in the names of their relatives.

He said frustrations with poor service delivery can be attributed to these officials, who created “unnecessary delays and unfair practices” in land applications and allocations.

Nevertheless, Kahimise said while he has been nicknamed the “Harambee CEO”, he will not cease to work towards decreasing poverty and improving prosperity for residents, in line with national objectives, and transform the municipality into a well-oiled service delivery operation.



Scapegoat

Kahimise attributed the allegations against him to a “witch-hunt” and said he is not surprised that some councillors, senior executives and city officials wanted to “exact revenge” on him following his suspension of Kanime in March 2018.

He claimed a handful of officials, including two senior executives, were dismayed with an organisational restructuring process initiated under his watch, which they felt deprived them “of their strategic-beneficial positions”.

Moreover, he said he had been made a convenient scapegoat by people trying to disrupt the implementation of the five-year strategic plan and his goal to improve service delivery.

Kahimise alluded to a “smaller system, within a bigger system, and a smaller council, within the council at large”, which had contributed to the city's recent public in-house struggles.



Land questions

Kahimise underlined that since he took up his position, the city had put a stop to two property loopholes that were excessively “exploited” by officials.

These included unsolicited public-private partnership agreements on land and housing delivery, and the private treatise.

He said the treaties allowed officials to create “dubious” land deals.

He said since then, pockets of land have been made available through tenders, offers to purchase and other means, and the city has approved the affordable housing concept.

He said tackling the loopholes was in line with his goal to “to try and protect the city's image and create a level playing field for all residents when it comes to access to land”.

Kahimise said while bribery continues to some extent, the city has managed to curb corruption and unethical behaviour, and has approved several policies to strengthen these efforts.

“The city is committed to reducing indiscipline throughout the organisation.”

JANA-MARI SMITH