Tackling corruption

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has expressed concern about the slow pace at which corruption cases are finalised in criminal courts.“The delays may result in members of society losing confidence in the justice system. The public may lose the courage to report suspicious acts of corruption to law enforcement agencies,” said Paulus Noa, the director general of the organisation.Concerning the slow pace at which corruption cases are finalised in criminal courts, the ACC suggests that specialised and/or dedicated courts be established to prioritise cases of corruption, fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion.“This will begin to instill confidence in the criminal justice system,” Noa said.He added that the ACC recognises the latest amendments to the Prevention of Organised Crime Act aimed at tackling unexplained wealth.“This is commendable. In the same vein, the passing of a law providing for the admissibility of electronically obtained evidence will complement the gathering of evidence by law enforcement agencies and make it possible to prove complex cases in criminal hearings. It may increase the conviction rate of suspects for corruption, fraud, and related financial crimes. Technology has advanced to the point that the time has come to consider amending relevant laws to allow criminal hearings, when circumstances demand, to be conducted via video conference.”According to Noa, many dockets are currently either in court pending trial or with the prosecutor-general pending decision. The ACC received a total of 142 cases. This represents an increase of 32 cases compared to 110 cases reported during the year 2021/2022 financial year (FY).“Sixty-six cases were investigated; 67 were declined for a variety of reasons, including lack of substance, vague information, and/or unfounded allegations, and nine were referred to other institutions, as they do not fall within the competence of the Commission to investigate them,” Noa explained.Out of 66 cases investigated by the ACC, eight were referred to the prosecutor-general for a decision; 13 cases were closed after investigation due to unfounded allegations; and the remaining 45 cases are still under investigation.Justine Kanyangela, the acting head of investigations at the ACC, confirmed that the head office received the highest number of cases (93).“This represents 65% of all cases received during 2022/2023 FY. The Oshana regional office received 20 cases, representing 14% of all cases. The Erongo regional office received 17 cases, representing 12%, while the Otjozondjupa regional office received the least (12), representing 8% of all cases received during 2022/2023," she said.During the 2022/2023 FY, the most reported forms of corruption relate to abuse of power, bribery, abuse of public resources, value-added tax (VAT), tender irregularities, and irregularities in recruitment. “Whistleblowers continued mainly reporting cases of abuse of power, with 57% of corruption reports in the 2022/2023 FY attesting to this fact,” said Noa.Twenty-two corruption-related cases were finalised in court, with 11 of these cases resulting in convictions. In two cases, the accused persons were given imprisonment, while nine received fines or jail sentences. The other 11 cases resulted in acquittal or withdrawal.Ongoing investigations in the Erongo region include the Seaflower Pelagic Processing Walvis Bay case. The allegations are that Celax Investments Number One (Pty) Ltd. allegedly used to obtain 33% of the 60% of African Selection Trust when the company Seaflower Pelagic Processing was established using the amendments of the co-operation agreement between the ministry of fisheries and marine resources and Fishcor to utilise governmental objective quotas.Allegations against a warrant officer at the crime investigation unit who took bribes from an accused person in exchange for destroying the fingerprints of the accused person and doing favours for the accused person by stealing or destroying the docket in which the accused person is charged are also being investigated.The misuse of a fuel card assigned to an official vehicle allocated to the office of the governor of the Erongo region is also being investigated. The accused used the card to embezzle N$20 852.18.

Tackling corruption

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Republikein 2025-04-30

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