EDITORIAL: The many other rots

Reams and reams of newspaper have already been used up by the Fishrot saga, which will still drag on for years - while the repercussions continue to haunt ordinary families, especially those of fishermen.

President Hage Geingob has often said that corruption is not systemic in Namibia, and that perceptions have been created that our society is a corrupt one.

Yet what has become increasingly clear is that ours has evolved into a culture of kickbacks, whether it be cops wanting ‘cooldrink money’ to not write a speeding ticket or those willing to sell Namibia’s crown jewels just so they can drive around with their side pieces in luxury sports cars and SUVs.

For too long, public procurement has been the target of greedy officials who get kickbacks from deliberately overpriced contracts and find other ways to channel everything under the sun through the backdoor. It has been a long-held assertion that there are those in government who are clearly abusing their positions in order to continue their nefarious activities.

Of course, this points to some kind of benefit accruing to those who have allowed these kinds of shenanigans.

The kickback artists need to answer and should be held accountable for the horrors they have caused. Corruption did not begin and end with the Fishrot bribery scandal, and we should certainly not fall into the trap of thinking so!