EDITORIAL: August 26 cannot hide behind machine guns
August 26 Holdings and its army of offshoots have operated in the shadows for far too long.
Wrapped in the excuse of “national security”, these military-owned companies have dodged accountability while feasting on taxpayer money.
Namibians are told to shut up and sit down every time they ask where their money is going. Meanwhile, theft and mismanagement at these entities make headlines regularly – yet not a single prosecution has followed. At best, those implicated are quietly ushered out the back door with clean hands and fat wallets.
How is manufacturing shoes, the forte of August 26 Manufacturing, a national security issue? If August 26 and its subsidiaries want to live in secrecy, let them do so as fully private companies – without a cent of taxpayer funding. But as long as their umbilical cord is plugged into the state coffers, they are answerable to every citizen in this country.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah must put a stop to this dangerous deception. The fat cats of our military-industrial complex have gorged themselves long enough at the public trough.
The real threat to national security isn’t transparency – it’s corruption. And the longer we look away, the deeper the rot grows.
It’s the unchecked syphoning of state resources through opaque structures dressed in camouflage that threatens the security of Namibians. It’s the erosion of public trust, the silent bleeding of the national purse and the audacity of elites who believe the rules do not apply to them.
Accountability is not optional. And hiding behind a uniform and machine guns will not protect those who abuse their power.
Namibia deserves to know how its money is spent. And those who fear the light of public scrutiny may already know they have something to hide.
Wrapped in the excuse of “national security”, these military-owned companies have dodged accountability while feasting on taxpayer money.
Namibians are told to shut up and sit down every time they ask where their money is going. Meanwhile, theft and mismanagement at these entities make headlines regularly – yet not a single prosecution has followed. At best, those implicated are quietly ushered out the back door with clean hands and fat wallets.
How is manufacturing shoes, the forte of August 26 Manufacturing, a national security issue? If August 26 and its subsidiaries want to live in secrecy, let them do so as fully private companies – without a cent of taxpayer funding. But as long as their umbilical cord is plugged into the state coffers, they are answerable to every citizen in this country.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah must put a stop to this dangerous deception. The fat cats of our military-industrial complex have gorged themselves long enough at the public trough.
The real threat to national security isn’t transparency – it’s corruption. And the longer we look away, the deeper the rot grows.
It’s the unchecked syphoning of state resources through opaque structures dressed in camouflage that threatens the security of Namibians. It’s the erosion of public trust, the silent bleeding of the national purse and the audacity of elites who believe the rules do not apply to them.
Accountability is not optional. And hiding behind a uniform and machine guns will not protect those who abuse their power.
Namibia deserves to know how its money is spent. And those who fear the light of public scrutiny may already know they have something to hide.
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Namibian Sun
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