The anti-corruption crusade in Namibia has now reached a point where many people are confused about the real purpose of having such an institution. Much has been said and written about corruption in Namibia to the extent where it now supercedes all other major satanic ills facing our country and nation. When we talk of the dramatic increase in the crime rate throughout the country, we do not exclude corruption, since corruption in itself is a crime. Two years now into its existence, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), as a statutory body responsible for the control, monitoring, regulating and safeguarding of the country from the bad – and worst – corruption, did not convince us about its profile, duties, responsibilities and activities. The Anti-Corruption Commission, in my view, was established with the purpose of becoming part of the social agenda as a broadly approved system of measures and actions for curbing the extremely dangerous social phenomenon of corruption in our country. Its main duties and responsibilities are – and were – not to go on the rampage arresting people for alleged corruption practices, but rather to provide the Government and the nation at large with solutions pertaining to the curbing of corruption in the country. The ACC was supposed to make an overview and analysis through proper research of the spheres of penetration, as well as the levels and dynamics of corruption in the country, particularly within the society, and present its major achievements and problems in order to facilitate a framework of anti-corruption campaigns or reforms in Namibia. The ACC as a statutory body is also expected to define the challenges for overcoming structural and institutional barriers in counteracting corruption; effective functioning of judiciary and law enforcement systems; restriction of corruption-generating practices of organized crime and grey economy. This, in my view, was supposed to be the cornerstone of the main functions the ACC was supposed to embark upon instead of duplicating the duties being carried out already by the national police force, NAMPOL. Corruption, in my understanding, is not only theft (stealing of N$1ÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ 000), nor is it just fraud or abuse of one’s position to achieve or obtain something. Corruption in its entirety is a well-coordinated super network which, in many cases, is even institutionalized by law or policy. It is a network just like any bureaucratic system which has got levels and stages. Its success is based on contacts and connections, up and down, or vice versa. To elucidate my point, let me tackle some local events and activities which attracted local and international media headlines recently and which today has turned a few individuals into millionaires in this country. The missing N$30-million from the Social Security Commission: who are – or were – the key ringleaders who secured the transfer of this money from the Social Security Commission accounts to Avid Company? There are rules and regulations governing or guiding the handling of finances in any institution of that magnitude. Before even the Chief Executive Officer signs a transaction agreement, consent must be obtained from the Minister through the Board of Directors, and I am sure that the Minister of Finance and State House were also supposed to be informed, if not also Cabinet. The system is of such a bureaucratic nature that not even a drop of water can leak through. Obviously, if you want to take a short cut, the only people who can obtain such an amount of money out of the company are those with certain powers. Here we can make our own conclusions that those with such powers can – or should – be people who facilitated the appointment of the MD or CEO to whom he or she has to pay loyalties. This is what is called networking based on the sharing of benefits. The same process applies to the ODC, NDF, the Northern Namibia Railway Project, etc. The Namibian Government is governed by the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. These main organs of Government are political, and provide political leadership to Government Ministries, Institutions and Offices. However, the actual management of Government is left in the hands of civil servants. The Permanent Secretaries, in their capacity as Accounting Officers of Ministries and Offices, are today running the affairs of their Ministries as if they were their own private companies. Serious loopholes in the appointments, job appraisals, evaluation of performance and monitoring of these Senior Government Officials have created favourable conditions for corruption in Government. One wonders why some Permanent Secretaries are today millionaires, with powers even feared by the Head of State. Permanent Secretaries are the ones who constitute the Tender Board of Namibia, whose responsibilities are to evaluate and approve tenders to successful bidders. It is also Permanent Secretaries who decide which projects or work should go out on tender and which ones should be exempted. That is why today we have a number of wealthy Permanent Secretaries who have become so complacent in their work to the extent that some Ministries are even falling apart. Through huge commissions, kickbacks, invincible shares in companies and mismanagement of public funds, these individuals have become the “bureaucratic bourgeoisie or untouchable elite” in the country. They are joined by Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors of State-Owned Enterprises. According to our own local research, the following individuals do not deserve to be in the public service of Namibia anymore: They are, to mention but a few: 1. Frans Kapofi, Secretary to Cabinet 2. Andrew Ndishishi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry 3. Samuel Goagoseb, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs 4. Dr. Malan Lindeque, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Tourism 5. Mocks Shivute, Permanent Secretary, National Planning Commission 6. Dr. Selma Ndeutala Angolo, Permanent Secretary, Office of the President 7. Vitalis Ankama, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education 8. Erastus Negonga, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local and Regional Government and Housing 9. Dr. Kalumbi Shangula, Permanent Secretary of Health and Social Services 10. All Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors of State-Owned Enterprises, including Regional Executive Officers. The Ministries under the management of the above-mentioned individuals are today going down the drain. The findings of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Funds during its recent hearings say it all. Some of the Permanent Secretaries do not even know how the budget allocations to their Ministries were spent, to the extent of over-expenditure and unaccountable funds running into millions of Namibian dollars. The lack of courage from the Office of the Prime Minister to put these Senior Officials under constant monitoring, has let the Namibian Government into a bureaucratic entity where basic management principles such as transparency, efficiency and effectiveness mean nothing. In the absence of these basic principles, corruption at its best takes the upper hand, as is the case right now. The question to the Anti-Corruption Commission is: why run after minor cases which can be solved by Ministries, Institutions and Offices through their internal disciplinary rules and regulations? Why not start at the top by investigating all the Ministries and Officers, starting from the Office of the President, Office of the Prime Minister, and move on to each and every Ministry? This, in my view, is – and can be – the starting point in striving to uproot and clean up corruption in Namibia. To President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Prime Minister Nahas Angula: the time is now to show cause and proof to the Namibian people that they are indeed capable, not only to run the affairs of this country and its people, but that they can bring about drastic and dramatic changes commensurable with what they say and preach, namely: “zero tolerance for corruption”. It is time to reshuffle the Cabinet and reorganize the Government by changing Permanent Secretaries and to put up all binding measures aimed at making Namibia a transparent, efficient and democratically governed country. Ikenna Tjirimejo Windhoek