Swapo threatens to deal with corrupt elements next year

Uahekua Herunga, the deputy secretary general of Swapo, says the party will decisively deal with those accused of corruption come 2024.

Swapo will be contesting in the forthcoming elections while still struggling to deal with the dent of corruption caused by former ministers Sacky Shanghala and Bernhard Esau.

Shanghala and Esau have been charged in the Fishrot corruption case which is ongoing in court.

Addressing a mini-Swapo rally at Sun City informal settlement at Rundu on Saturday, where the party has registered 277 new party members, Herunga called on members and people working for the government to be free of corruption.

“Despite the challenges we are facing, we can acknowledge that we can do much better because we need zero tolerance for corruption.

“Those of you who are free from corrupt practices, make sure you remain so, because if you are caught in a corrupt practice, you will be in trouble . . . your future name will also be in trouble,” he said.

He said according to instructions from Swapo’s top leaders, it will not be business as usual come 2024 and party leaders would have to make sure they work hard and together for the benefit of the party and Namibia’s people.

“As long as you work for the government of Namibia, you must work hard. As you get out of your bed, ask yourself what difference I will bring to a Namibian person.

“As a nurse, when you go to the hospital, how am I going to improve the life of a Namibian person?” Herunga went on.
He said those questions apply to ministers as well as regional governors.

“Make sure that you are working. If you don’t work, we have a lot of Namibians who don’t have jobs and make sure you are ready to perform to the best of your ability for the benefit of the people of this country and to grow the economy of this country to give jobs to the young people of this country.

“Because when we said we are going to liberate Namibia and after liberating her, we are going to run the affairs of the people of this country for the betterment of the people of this country.”

The 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows most countries are failing to stop corruption, and out of 180 countries, Namibia is ranked 59th on the corruption scale.

Political commentator and lecturer at the University of Namibia Ndumba Kamwanyah says the Swapo-led government has not done enough to fight corruption due to legal loopholes in governance systems and processes.

“On paper and institutionally, Namibia sounds strong against corruption, but at political will, Namibia is weak against corruption,” he says, noting that institutions in charge of corruption seem to self-censor to save their positions.