Geingob defends Noa
President Hage Geingob says there is political will and commitment to tackle corruption.
President Hage Geingob yesterday leapt to the defence of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director-general Paulus Noa, while defending his administration's record on curbing corruption.
Geingob said the anti-graft agency boss was being unfairly targeted because the public had yet to see a “big fish” being convicted of corruption.
“The ACC is being condemned left and right because they didn't indict a big fish,” Geingob said yesterday while briefing the media on government's progress over the last year at State House.
“Poor Noa is being attacked. It is not good just to condemn people. We must do things properly.”
In recent months, public frustration has reached boiling point over the ACC's failure to act on high-profile corruption scandals that have rocked the government and state-owned enterprises.Last month finance minister Calle Schlettwein didn't mince his words when he raised concern about the effectiveness of the ACC and its ability to prosecute corruption cases.
Unlike Geingob, Schlettwein believes that the ACC will need to become autonomous for it to effectively tackle corruption cases.
“The ACC needs to become autonomous, it needs to be strengthened. They are weak in my opinion… If the ACC does not have the power to prosecute, that becomes a problem in my opinion,” Schlettwein was quoted as saying during a post-mid-term-budget discussion.
Geingob, however, maintained that there was political will and commitment to tackle the scourge of corruption, especially in government.
“They (ACC) have investigated a lot of people. Sometimes there are questions asked about us. The ACC doesn't have to grab people and prove that they have caught a big fish. We have systems in place and we are committed to fight corruption,” said Geingob.
Lifestyle audits
Geingob was non-committal when pressed on the issue of introducing lifestyle audits to assess whether public officials' lifestyles were consistent with their income.
Lifestyle audits involve verification of a person's personal expenditure patterns to determine if they are consistent with an individual's sources of income, including their salary.
Geingob had hinted at introducing the concept during a televised interview while in the United States last year.
“It is a very difficult thing. It must be done by experts. It will be done,” he said.
The president said his administration had acted on corruption, citing a decision to cancel the Hosea Kutako International Airport expansion tender after it was found that the project cost had ballooned to N$7 billion from N$3 billion.
A Chinese company by the name Auhui Foreign Economic Construction Corporation was considered successful with its bid. However, the standoff led to a series of court cases in both the High Court and the Supreme Court.
Despite losing the initial challenge in the High Court, the government appealed the decision, leading to the Supreme Court ruling in its favour.
During this year's State of the Nation Address, Geingob announced that a transparent and cheaper tender process would now be undertaken by the authorities.
Bulk oil storage facility
The Walvis Bay bulk oil storage facility debacle featured prominently during yesterday's media briefing following the acquittal of two key officials who were initially implicated in the matter.
Three government officials- the permanent secretaries of finance and the National Planning Commission (NPC) as well as the chief legal adviser in the attorney general's office - were charged for their roles which saw the cost of the project spiralling from N$3.7 billion in 2014 to N$5.5 billion last year.
Finance PS Erica Shafudah escaped with a final warning, while Leevi Hungamo and Chris Nghaamwa were both acquitted. Hungamo has since resigned as NPC PS.
Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila admitted that irregularities were uncovered that led to the cabinet instituting an investigation.
“The financial aspect of the project has been referred to the ministry of finance that is looking into it with the procurement board. And if in the process of the review by the procurement board it is established that there was something else other than administrative oversight, then the matter will be followed up in terms of the law,” she said.
The storage facility is being built by CBR, which is a joint venture between Vaino Nghipondoka's Babyface Civils and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEH).
A few weeks ago, Hungamo said the Namibian government had lost close to N$1 billion because of “people in authority not wanting to take professional advice given by officials qualified to do so”.
FESTUS NAKATANA
Geingob said the anti-graft agency boss was being unfairly targeted because the public had yet to see a “big fish” being convicted of corruption.
“The ACC is being condemned left and right because they didn't indict a big fish,” Geingob said yesterday while briefing the media on government's progress over the last year at State House.
“Poor Noa is being attacked. It is not good just to condemn people. We must do things properly.”
In recent months, public frustration has reached boiling point over the ACC's failure to act on high-profile corruption scandals that have rocked the government and state-owned enterprises.Last month finance minister Calle Schlettwein didn't mince his words when he raised concern about the effectiveness of the ACC and its ability to prosecute corruption cases.
Unlike Geingob, Schlettwein believes that the ACC will need to become autonomous for it to effectively tackle corruption cases.
“The ACC needs to become autonomous, it needs to be strengthened. They are weak in my opinion… If the ACC does not have the power to prosecute, that becomes a problem in my opinion,” Schlettwein was quoted as saying during a post-mid-term-budget discussion.
Geingob, however, maintained that there was political will and commitment to tackle the scourge of corruption, especially in government.
“They (ACC) have investigated a lot of people. Sometimes there are questions asked about us. The ACC doesn't have to grab people and prove that they have caught a big fish. We have systems in place and we are committed to fight corruption,” said Geingob.
Lifestyle audits
Geingob was non-committal when pressed on the issue of introducing lifestyle audits to assess whether public officials' lifestyles were consistent with their income.
Lifestyle audits involve verification of a person's personal expenditure patterns to determine if they are consistent with an individual's sources of income, including their salary.
Geingob had hinted at introducing the concept during a televised interview while in the United States last year.
“It is a very difficult thing. It must be done by experts. It will be done,” he said.
The president said his administration had acted on corruption, citing a decision to cancel the Hosea Kutako International Airport expansion tender after it was found that the project cost had ballooned to N$7 billion from N$3 billion.
A Chinese company by the name Auhui Foreign Economic Construction Corporation was considered successful with its bid. However, the standoff led to a series of court cases in both the High Court and the Supreme Court.
Despite losing the initial challenge in the High Court, the government appealed the decision, leading to the Supreme Court ruling in its favour.
During this year's State of the Nation Address, Geingob announced that a transparent and cheaper tender process would now be undertaken by the authorities.
Bulk oil storage facility
The Walvis Bay bulk oil storage facility debacle featured prominently during yesterday's media briefing following the acquittal of two key officials who were initially implicated in the matter.
Three government officials- the permanent secretaries of finance and the National Planning Commission (NPC) as well as the chief legal adviser in the attorney general's office - were charged for their roles which saw the cost of the project spiralling from N$3.7 billion in 2014 to N$5.5 billion last year.
Finance PS Erica Shafudah escaped with a final warning, while Leevi Hungamo and Chris Nghaamwa were both acquitted. Hungamo has since resigned as NPC PS.
Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila admitted that irregularities were uncovered that led to the cabinet instituting an investigation.
“The financial aspect of the project has been referred to the ministry of finance that is looking into it with the procurement board. And if in the process of the review by the procurement board it is established that there was something else other than administrative oversight, then the matter will be followed up in terms of the law,” she said.
The storage facility is being built by CBR, which is a joint venture between Vaino Nghipondoka's Babyface Civils and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEH).
A few weeks ago, Hungamo said the Namibian government had lost close to N$1 billion because of “people in authority not wanting to take professional advice given by officials qualified to do so”.
FESTUS NAKATANA
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