ACC needs more money - report
Snail-pace investigations hinder progres
There is an urgent need for the Anti-Corruption Commission to establish a dedicated secretariat for strategy, a report found.
Namibia’s fight against corruption is undermined by a medley of challenges, a report has found.
According to the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2025, snail-pace police and forensic investigations, cases being struck from the court roll or withdrawn because the prosecutor-general’s decision was obtained late, shortage of judicial officers, lack of courtrooms and shortage of staff are some of the issues plaguing the country.
The document called for the timely submission of dockets to the Office of the Prosecutor-General, and the strengthening of anti-corruption legislation.
“It was reported that there are no sufficient resources availed to the Judiciary in terms of financing to appoint more judicial officers and support staff members to deal with corruption cases. Furthermore, there are also no financial resources provided to train and equip the judicial officers and court support staff on corruption matters,” it read.
Urgent need
The report called for the amendment of the Anti-Corruption Act to include the solicitation of or acceptance of a bribe by a foreign public official or an official of an international public organisation as a criminal offence. It has also called for the amendment of the Act in order to include embezzlement by a person in the private sector as a corrupt practice.
“A total of 37 integrity committees have been established and operationalised, and the capacity-building is ongoing. These include monthly online meetings as well as training. A total of 260 integrity committee members across the public service were thus trained during the period under review.”
Meanwhile, there is an urgent need for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to establish a dedicated secretariat for strategy, because a dedicated team - and not ad hoc as it is now - remains crucial for tracking progress timeously, the action plan read.
The current structure is overwhelming - mainly for the team based at the ACC’s headquarters, which is expected to perform dual responsibilities, it found. “There is a need for increased budget towards strategy implementation and coordination, and continuous capacity-building in various areas and skill sets for the secretariat."
[email protected]
According to the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2025, snail-pace police and forensic investigations, cases being struck from the court roll or withdrawn because the prosecutor-general’s decision was obtained late, shortage of judicial officers, lack of courtrooms and shortage of staff are some of the issues plaguing the country.
The document called for the timely submission of dockets to the Office of the Prosecutor-General, and the strengthening of anti-corruption legislation.
“It was reported that there are no sufficient resources availed to the Judiciary in terms of financing to appoint more judicial officers and support staff members to deal with corruption cases. Furthermore, there are also no financial resources provided to train and equip the judicial officers and court support staff on corruption matters,” it read.
Urgent need
The report called for the amendment of the Anti-Corruption Act to include the solicitation of or acceptance of a bribe by a foreign public official or an official of an international public organisation as a criminal offence. It has also called for the amendment of the Act in order to include embezzlement by a person in the private sector as a corrupt practice.
“A total of 37 integrity committees have been established and operationalised, and the capacity-building is ongoing. These include monthly online meetings as well as training. A total of 260 integrity committee members across the public service were thus trained during the period under review.”
Meanwhile, there is an urgent need for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to establish a dedicated secretariat for strategy, because a dedicated team - and not ad hoc as it is now - remains crucial for tracking progress timeously, the action plan read.
The current structure is overwhelming - mainly for the team based at the ACC’s headquarters, which is expected to perform dual responsibilities, it found. “There is a need for increased budget towards strategy implementation and coordination, and continuous capacity-building in various areas and skill sets for the secretariat."
[email protected]
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article