A Multi-Pronged Approach To Combating Corruption

DECENTRALISATION. That term evokes a positive feeling.

Two kinds of corruption come to mind: centralized and decentralized.Under the former, there is normally one leader who organises all the corrupt activities in the country.This is done for self-enrichment but also for political patronage purposes.The DRC under Mobutu Sese Seko and Nigeria under Sani Abacha come to mind as good candidates for centralised corruption.Although some may say what happened under the rule of Abacha, Mobutu and their ilk was outright theft and embezzlement of state resources.I leave it to others to go through the maze of contrasting definitions of corruption and how it can be distinguished from other forms of unacceptable behavior by people holding and running public and private office. In Namibia, to their credit, the top political leader has not succumbed to that kind of corruption.(At least not that we know of)! What we have been witnessing in Namibia is rather decentralised corruption.There are just too many corrupt souls in this country.It is no longer a matter of perception – it’s real.It taints every section of our society and it ranges from an immigration officer selling Namibian ID documents to foreigners to high-ranking people at state-owned enterprises and sometimes in Government itself.The anecdotes are simply too numerous to mention.I can’t imagine an institution that has not been affected by this scourge.Whether it was the misuse of S&Ts at State House; the various cases at the Social Security Commission, National Housing Enterprise’s Single Quarters renovation debacle, the University of Namibia, hospitals, schools – all have been affected by one form of corrupt practice or the other.Decentralised corruption is by its very nature hard to fight.As such, the agencies that are supposed to fight corruption are usually stretched to the limit because the disease has permeated the whole society (rather like water running through a sponge) and not just a few institutions.But it must be fought.Although long overdue; the coming into being of the Anti-Corruption Commission was indeed a welcome move by the Namibian Government or should we say, our law-makers.And we understand the Commission has started to ‘crawl’ and will soon be running.It began with minor cases but the Director has promised that, big or small, all will come under the fine comb and microscope of the ACC.But the Commission’s work is not going to be easy, especially in view of the fact that many high profile cases were left to hibernate for quite some time, especially under the former President’s tenure.Although Nujoma had a propensity for setting up commissions of inquiries one after the other; these were not allowed to go beyond the finding stages and to bring the culprits to book.The Commission will have the unenviable and formidable task of battling and hopefully reducing corruption substantially.Because talk of total eradication (although highly desirable) is too utopian at this stage.I suggest that the battle against corruption should be fought on all fronts and this should involve different institutions and actors, not least of all the Commission itself.The police, Auditor-Generals Office, Ombudsman, the courts, journalists, the churches, civil society organisations and indeed private individuals must all join the fight.Thus talk of the Ombudsman’s Office becoming irrelevant because of the ACC are un-called for and demoralising to those working there.They should rather work hand in hand – with each bringing in their specific mandate and expertise.The courts and the police have at times been founding lacking when it came to investigating high-profile corruption cases.This has to do, mainly, with lack of proper training and, as our Justice Minister would remind us, also lack of person-power.Unfortunately some of the very investigating officers are themselves involved in some of these under-hand activities.So, it’s one criminal chasing another and at the end of the day they both end up hiding in the same hole.But with additional magistrates now on board, hopefully things will improve substantially.But fighting corruption should not just be confined to police arrests and to courts’ jailing the culprits.A nation-wide anti-corrupt information and sensitisation campaign would be needed – prevention is better than cure, as they say.This is where the churches and other civil society groups come in.They should tell their members and society at large that corruption does not pay in the long run – neither for the individual involved nor society.It is said that bureaucratic corruption is a reflection of current behavioural patterns and cultural norms in a given society.And that’s why efforts at behavioural change would be crucial in combating corruption.I would expect the creation of a robust public information unit as part of the ACC establishment in order to share as much information with other agencies as possible.And not to forget the brave and patriotic Namibians who would be expected to come forward and report cases of corruption to the authorities.This, however, has to be handled professionally, both regarding ‘whistle-blower’ protection, and also to ensure there is good reason to believe people are involved in unacceptable activities before reporting them.But all will come to naught unless the government of the day is fully supportive of the work and efforts of the Commission and indeed the other agencies.The Commission would need sufficient political support and economic resources to carry out its mandate.But support should not lead to interferences by the bureaucracy and political leadership.A truly independent Commission, working within the principles of what is right, fair and just, is what the country needs.Finally, let the ACC draw inspiration from these words of President Pohamba: “In all our endeavours we must recognise that the interests of society must not be compromised by individual self-enrichment.”