Our lukewarm corruption fight
The 2018 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has given Namibia a score of 53 out of 100, which perfectly describes our lukewarm attitude to tackling graft.
Although Namibia performed significantly better than neighbouring South Africa, which had been ground-zero for corruption antics during the turbulent Jacob Zuma years, a half-baked score is nothing to write home about.
While the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) struggles to shake off the ongoing perception that it is more interested in petrol card fraud, citizens have long bemoaned this seeming lack of will to catch the connected with their fingers in the proverbial till.
What is even more disconcerting is the fact that this highway robbery of state resources has massive impacts on the poor.
Little do most of us know how the corruption scourge vacuums up the money that would potentially be available to be spend on services, and even growing the economy, in order to create jobs.
This is a sad state of affairs indeed, as it appears there are untouchables among us, who need not fear any consequences, because they are connected in one way or another.
Over the years, there have been warning lights going off about a culture of impunity. It is obvious that not all animals are equal in this land.
There is a sense that some enjoy the kind of protection the rest of us can only dream of, when it comes to alleged crimes being swept under the carpet. Our lexicon has now also softened corruption, and we now talk of ‘irregularities’ and ‘misconduct’, while financial reports presented to parliament are from many years prior.
If there is political will to actually root out corruption, which is a major contributor to inequality, bigwigs would have been making court appearances and there would be high-profile raids and investigations consistently. As it stands, the courtrooms are reserved for the rest of us, while we watch with open mouths as the corrupt feast on their spoils.
Although Namibia performed significantly better than neighbouring South Africa, which had been ground-zero for corruption antics during the turbulent Jacob Zuma years, a half-baked score is nothing to write home about.
While the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) struggles to shake off the ongoing perception that it is more interested in petrol card fraud, citizens have long bemoaned this seeming lack of will to catch the connected with their fingers in the proverbial till.
What is even more disconcerting is the fact that this highway robbery of state resources has massive impacts on the poor.
Little do most of us know how the corruption scourge vacuums up the money that would potentially be available to be spend on services, and even growing the economy, in order to create jobs.
This is a sad state of affairs indeed, as it appears there are untouchables among us, who need not fear any consequences, because they are connected in one way or another.
Over the years, there have been warning lights going off about a culture of impunity. It is obvious that not all animals are equal in this land.
There is a sense that some enjoy the kind of protection the rest of us can only dream of, when it comes to alleged crimes being swept under the carpet. Our lexicon has now also softened corruption, and we now talk of ‘irregularities’ and ‘misconduct’, while financial reports presented to parliament are from many years prior.
If there is political will to actually root out corruption, which is a major contributor to inequality, bigwigs would have been making court appearances and there would be high-profile raids and investigations consistently. As it stands, the courtrooms are reserved for the rest of us, while we watch with open mouths as the corrupt feast on their spoils.
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Namibian Sun
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