Discipline corrupt politicians - Noa
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director Paulus Noa says political parties are failing to take action against political leaders implicated in graft cases and who are more focused on self-enrichment than serving the masses.
Speaking at Onayena in Oshikoto on Friday, during the commemoration of the African Day of Decentralisation and Local Development, Noa called on political parties to discipline corrupt politicians.
Over the years, many politicians, especially at local government level, have been implicated in corruption cases where they either directly or indirectly benefited from decisions they made in opposition to their oath of office.
There have been cases where councillors have awarded themselves or their family members and friends land unprocedurally. In most cases these decisions have not been reversed, after they were reported by the media.
This, Noa says, should no longer be tolerated in Namibia.
He described the blindness of political parties, who do not act against its members, especially those in leadership positions.
Noa said this was tantamount to the betrayal of the electorate, who were persuaded to vote for leaders that are more focused on self-enrichment and are not serving the masses.
“Often when the elected councillors are not performing or accused of mismanagement of public resources, political parties are nowhere (to be seen) to call their councillors to account, and if need be, to remove them from the council,” Noa said.
“Such omissions to act by political parties is tantamount to betrayal of the voters.”
Noa urged political parties not to shy away from disciplining their members elected into influential positions, who are accused of not performing as expected or who are found guilty of corruption.
“Political parties must also declare war on corruption and see to it that when they are receiving reports of elected public officials not performing according to the desired expectations, then they must rein them in and call those elected public officials to order, even if it means removing them and replacing them with other persons.”
Noa warned that once the public learns of cases where their elected leaders in local authorities are implicated in conflicts of interest, they will conclude that all local authorities are corrupt.
“Always remember, one or two big scandals of corruption involving conflicts of interest, mismanagement of public resources and the disappearance of public funds are enough for the public to perceive that all local authority leaderships are corrupt,” Noa added.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Speaking at Onayena in Oshikoto on Friday, during the commemoration of the African Day of Decentralisation and Local Development, Noa called on political parties to discipline corrupt politicians.
Over the years, many politicians, especially at local government level, have been implicated in corruption cases where they either directly or indirectly benefited from decisions they made in opposition to their oath of office.
There have been cases where councillors have awarded themselves or their family members and friends land unprocedurally. In most cases these decisions have not been reversed, after they were reported by the media.
This, Noa says, should no longer be tolerated in Namibia.
He described the blindness of political parties, who do not act against its members, especially those in leadership positions.
Noa said this was tantamount to the betrayal of the electorate, who were persuaded to vote for leaders that are more focused on self-enrichment and are not serving the masses.
“Often when the elected councillors are not performing or accused of mismanagement of public resources, political parties are nowhere (to be seen) to call their councillors to account, and if need be, to remove them from the council,” Noa said.
“Such omissions to act by political parties is tantamount to betrayal of the voters.”
Noa urged political parties not to shy away from disciplining their members elected into influential positions, who are accused of not performing as expected or who are found guilty of corruption.
“Political parties must also declare war on corruption and see to it that when they are receiving reports of elected public officials not performing according to the desired expectations, then they must rein them in and call those elected public officials to order, even if it means removing them and replacing them with other persons.”
Noa warned that once the public learns of cases where their elected leaders in local authorities are implicated in conflicts of interest, they will conclude that all local authorities are corrupt.
“Always remember, one or two big scandals of corruption involving conflicts of interest, mismanagement of public resources and the disappearance of public funds are enough for the public to perceive that all local authority leaderships are corrupt,” Noa added.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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