Account for every borrowed cent

Government spoke boldly about ensuring that every cent from the N$8.1 billion relief package against the coronavirus would be accounted for.

While this could still happen, it is important that the nation – which is the real owner of that money – is kept abreast of every count.

This is particularly important because questions have started to be asked as to how that money was really used, seeing that many applications were turned down, yet the kitty seems empty already.

True, Covid-19 has caught everyone by surprise and turned upside down everyone’s plan, but crooks, which Namibia is not in short supply of, could hide behind this virus to even steal more.

We have said before that Covid-19 cannot be faulted on anyone in Namibia, but how we spend national resources in the fight against it would define our level of accountability.

It would be a new low if borrowed funds are not used for the betterment of society, and withholding information would only perpetuate fears that some people within the bureaucracy misappropriated that which cannot be accounted for.

It is also tiring to the common man when he hears time and again that his country has borrowed money while his condition remains static, if not deteriorating. As debts soar, there must be tangible evidence on the ground of the work done.

When things get worse while on the other hand debt is soaring, legitimate questions would arise as to whose pockets the borrowed funds landed in.