Windhoek
Officials working for the Ministry of Finance across the country are undergoing a three-day workshop through which a roadmap will be formulated to mitigate or avoid corruption within the ministry.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Awareness and Integrity Management Workshop, organised by the ACC, will pay special attention to anti-corruption practices, such as integrity management awareness-raising and the improvement of economic efficiency within the ministry.
The 45 participants will learn how to share information, promote and build effective partnerships in order to identify risks and find ways to mitigate risks using the integrity management model.
In a speech read on his behalf by ACC head of public education and corruption prevention, Namupa Nengola, ACC director general Paulus Noa explained that the integrity model provides a bottom-up approach to increasing an organisation’s economic efficiency by enhancing the level of officials’ integrity.
Facilitators will deliver presentations on topics, such as administrative corruption, corruption in tender procedures, corruption at customs and excise, as well as corruption at Inland Revenue. The second part of the workshop will involve the development of a roadmap for the ministry.
Noa said an integrity committee would be established with an integrity change agent, to ensure the roadmap is properly implemented. “The integrity committee will be headed by the change agent, who will serve as the focal person between ACC and the ministry,” Noa said.
He said the agent would be required to submit quarterly reports on the implementation of the roadmap that will allow ACC to monitor progress.
The country’s public procurement sector, which is largely controlled by the finance ministry, is said to be highly susceptible to corruption due to a lack of control measures related to the awarding of state contracts.
The situation became so precarious the finance ministry initiated plans to establish a procurement policy office to be based within the Ministry of Finance. It would become the technical arm of the minister for the conception and implementation of procurement policies.
It would also act as an oversight and monitoring body to ensure effective implementation and compliance.
The office will be responsible for ensuring the proper training of both officers and bidders, so that procurement is conducted in a professional manner.
The Central Procurement Board will be another key institution to be established under new legislation that is intended to replace the current Tender Board.