WINDHOEK – The Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Paulus Noah says the private sector is no exeption when it comes to bribe taking particularly in the areas of public procurement where uncouth officials often collude to inflate tenders.
“It is a fact that corruption, particularly in the form of bribery, takes two to tango. In this regard private enterprises have never been exempt from corrupt practices especially in the areas of public procurement,” Noah said at the launch of the report on anti-corruption within the private sector and SOEs.
“In some instances of bribery relating to public procurement, fingers point to some officials in the private sector or their intermediaries who work in collussion with officials in the public sector, corruptly devising techniques to inflate tender quotations and award tenders to these companies,” said the ACC director. Although this trend is not yet deep rooted in Namibia, Noah said, he fears that with the multitude of multinational companies doing business in the publc sector in Africa – Namibia included – the situation may become endemic unless preventive measures are developed to nip the scourge of corruption in the bud.
Noah said the private sector is an indispensable partner in the prevention of corruption and he implored both the private and public sectors to put in place proper anti-corruption mechanisms that would bolster ethics in business.
“Private companies are expected to have company policies that are in compliance with international legal instruments on corruption and bribery. Authorities are as well under mandatory obligation to enact laws in compliance with international conventions, “ Noah stated.
He said the best method to fight corruption is to prevent it. ”Government through public institutions has to set the standard of zero tolerance for corruption for private companies to follow. Applicable rules for public procurement must be known by all participants. Bidding procedures must be above board and transparent ,” he stressed.
Noah said there should be no room for collusion either between officials of public and private company or through intermediaries.
“Use of a third party (intermediary) should not be done under the veil of secrecy,” he emphasised.
The ACC director said that bribery, especially when public institutions are involved distorts the allocation of resources. “It inflates spending on public procurement, undermines competition and discourages investment. It has devastating effect on economic growth and development. In the end the poor are adversely affected because corruption denies them vital basic services,” he expanded.
In addition, Noah said, bribery is a known phenomenon that associates with crimes that have links to capital outflows such as money-laundering, fraud, tax evasion and trafficking offences.
“Thus, if left unchecked, it takes root and becomes hard to uproot. Hence, if the private sector is also a contributing factor to the problem of corruption, let it also be a solution to the problem by introducing proper legal mechanisms in their operating systems, policies and codes of ethics,” he said.
“Private companies as suppliers of services do business in partnership with foreign companies and therefore may be bound by laws governing those foreign companies. All sectors of society have the duty to contribute to the elimination of corruption in Namibia, “ suggested the ACC chief.
By Kuzeeko Tjitemisa