ACC: Budget not enough to fight graft
The Anti-Corruption commission says its budget allocation is not enough to execute its mandate.
CATHERINE SASMAN
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) says the N$61.6 million budget proposed for its operations is woefully inadequate.
The ACC has pointed out that it needs at least N$62.4 million just to fulfil its contractual obligations such as salaries and transport expenditure.
The budget allocation means that it will barely be in a position to pursue its two main mandates, which are to investigate allegations of corruption and to prevent corruption.
The ACC at this stage does not have enough funding to fill two critical vacancies for investigators.
The ACC’s organisational structure provides for 36 investigating officers. In Botswana, with about the same population size, the anti-graft body has over 100 investigating officers.
The proposed operational budget also does not cater for additional special investigators such as auditors, engineers or quantity surveyors for forensic investigations.
The ACC’s special operations account has been depleted, and its plea for more funding in the 2018/19 financial year was unsuccessful.
“We will simply not be in a position to fully execute our mandate,” says the ACC deputy director-general, advocate Erna van der Merwe.
Namibia is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which requires member states to adequately operate and fund their anti-corruption agencies.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) says the N$61.6 million budget proposed for its operations is woefully inadequate.
The ACC has pointed out that it needs at least N$62.4 million just to fulfil its contractual obligations such as salaries and transport expenditure.
The budget allocation means that it will barely be in a position to pursue its two main mandates, which are to investigate allegations of corruption and to prevent corruption.
The ACC at this stage does not have enough funding to fill two critical vacancies for investigators.
The ACC’s organisational structure provides for 36 investigating officers. In Botswana, with about the same population size, the anti-graft body has over 100 investigating officers.
The proposed operational budget also does not cater for additional special investigators such as auditors, engineers or quantity surveyors for forensic investigations.
The ACC’s special operations account has been depleted, and its plea for more funding in the 2018/19 financial year was unsuccessful.
“We will simply not be in a position to fully execute our mandate,” says the ACC deputy director-general, advocate Erna van der Merwe.
Namibia is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), which requires member states to adequately operate and fund their anti-corruption agencies.
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