No collaboration between ACC, PG and police, study finds
Lack of information-sharing bemoaned
Law-enforcement agencies do not give each other sufficient updates on key investigations they are pursuing, a report found.
The Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) says law-enforcement agencies in Namibia do not collaborate sufficiently to combat crime, adding that enhanced cooperation can help the fight against corruption.
The findings are contained in the APRM’s country review mission on Namibia.
Law-enforcement agencies such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the Namibian Police and the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) do not sufficiently share vital information among themselves, it found.
“There is lack of information-sharing amongst the various bodies combatting corruption. It would be helpful if the ACC, FIC, law-enforcement agencies, the OPG and other key stakeholders share information in their efforts to fight corruption and money laundering,” the report said.
Law-enforcement agencies also do not give each other sufficient updates on key investigations they are pursuing, it found.
“They should inform each other on their respective progress, status or success rate of cases referred. This would enable them to determine areas that may need improvement or reprioritisation.”
Huge backlog
The report also noted that there are bottlenecks that have resulted in a huge backlog of cases to be investigated by the ACC and prosecuted by the OPG.
“This is also due to the lack of capacity in these important organisations. This backlog has led to delays which are adversely impacting the country’s efforts to fight corruption.”
Data storage and record keeping were also found to be poor at law-enforcement agencies.
“The various branches of law enforcement do not keep data in a manner that enables assessment of their effectiveness in the fight against corruption. For example, the Namibia Revenue Authority (NamRA) noted that the authorities concerned with the fight against corruption do not record financial values of all illicit crimes under investigation. Such data would have been helpful in establishing reliable financial values of corruption and money-laundering activities.”
The APRM further encouraged government to boost efforts in its fight against corruption by capacitating agencies and encourage the ACC, FIC, OPG, law enforcement and other stakeholders to share information and provide feedback to each other.
The findings are contained in the APRM’s country review mission on Namibia.
Law-enforcement agencies such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the Namibian Police and the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) do not sufficiently share vital information among themselves, it found.
“There is lack of information-sharing amongst the various bodies combatting corruption. It would be helpful if the ACC, FIC, law-enforcement agencies, the OPG and other key stakeholders share information in their efforts to fight corruption and money laundering,” the report said.
Law-enforcement agencies also do not give each other sufficient updates on key investigations they are pursuing, it found.
“They should inform each other on their respective progress, status or success rate of cases referred. This would enable them to determine areas that may need improvement or reprioritisation.”
Huge backlog
The report also noted that there are bottlenecks that have resulted in a huge backlog of cases to be investigated by the ACC and prosecuted by the OPG.
“This is also due to the lack of capacity in these important organisations. This backlog has led to delays which are adversely impacting the country’s efforts to fight corruption.”
Data storage and record keeping were also found to be poor at law-enforcement agencies.
“The various branches of law enforcement do not keep data in a manner that enables assessment of their effectiveness in the fight against corruption. For example, the Namibia Revenue Authority (NamRA) noted that the authorities concerned with the fight against corruption do not record financial values of all illicit crimes under investigation. Such data would have been helpful in establishing reliable financial values of corruption and money-laundering activities.”
The APRM further encouraged government to boost efforts in its fight against corruption by capacitating agencies and encourage the ACC, FIC, OPG, law enforcement and other stakeholders to share information and provide feedback to each other.
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