ACC denies Namibians pay more and more ‘cooldrink money’

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Paulus Noa says corruption has not increased in Namibia.

He responded to an Afrobarometer survey on Namibians’ views on corruption yesterday.

“I do not agree with their perception that corruption in Namibia has increased. There is more progress in the fight against corruption than what they perceive,” Noa said.

The survey showed that the majority of Namibians believe corruption is rising, with two thirds thinking corruption is getting worse.

Afrobarometer’s national investigator, Christie Keulder, on Wednesday evening said the perception of corruption increasing has risen dramatically.

He said Namibians also believe the government is not doing its best to deal with this.

“About three quarters (76%) of citizens say the government is doing a bad job of fighting corruption in the government – the highest level of disapproval recorded in two decades of Afrobarometer surveys,” Keulder said.

About one in seven (15%) respondents who had contact with a public clinic or hospital in the past 12 months say they have had to pay a bribe for services.

Similarly, about one in six (17%) who tried to obtain a government identification document in the past 12 months say they have had to pay a bribe to obtain the document.

Nearly one fifth (18%) who have requested assistance from the police, say they have had to pay a bribe.

“Among 41% of Namibians who encountered the police in other situations, 27% say they have had to pay a bribe at least once,” Keulder said.

Noa, however, says the survey simply reflects opinion and not the reality of good governance in Namibia.

“This is just a perception of individuals who were approached to express their opinion. Their perception is not based on factual information,” he says. “Yes, there are challenges of poverty, unemployment and slow economic performance in the country, but these are not necessarily attributed to the high rate of corruption in the country,” he says.

Noa takes issue with the fact that Namibians link poverty and unemployment to corruption without evidence.

The Afrobarometer survey closely reflects the views of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which was released earlier this year in its country report on Namibia.

The APRM found that the ACC “has a mixed record of performance and appears more capable of dealing with less powerful people”.

“Many Namibians who engaged with the review team considered the procurement system as rigged in favour of the powerful, the educated, well-connected and willing givers, and does not genuinely promote competitiveness, transparency and fairness,” the report says.

The APRM says the public’s loss of confidence is making it difficult for the ACC to perform their duties effectively.

Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) executive director Graham Hopwood says Namibia’s oil and gas discoveries are raising corruption concerns.

He is calling for government transparency measures, like publishing contracts and openly declaring assets to prevent corruption.