The Roads Contractor Company’s (RCC) decision to award road contracts to traditional authorities, who then act as middlemen, is a stark illustration of how Namibia perpetuates a culture of entitlement and enrichment.
The RCC, a state-owned roads construction company, dished out two road tenders to the Oukwanyama and Ondonga traditional authorities.
In turn, these two authorities passed the contracts on to actual contractors.
The full-time involvement of traditional leaders has normalised what amounts to legalised enrichment.
Around 10 years ago, former president Hage Geingob promised that the government would “cut out the middlemen” from crucial services to avoid inflation. That promise remains unfulfilled.
It is unacceptable that this struggling parastatal, notorious for paying employees to remain idle, continues to drain state funds while, among others, children endure deplorable learning conditions and aspiring young entrepreneurs struggle to secure funding.
Adding insult to injury, the RCC is kept on life support by taxpayers’ money.
We hope the incoming administration will dismantle blatant enrichment schemes like the RCC tenders that flourished under previous administrations, including that of president Nangolo Mbumba.
Unless this is brought to a halt, parastatals will continue to remain money guzzlers.
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