Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro
The “Capital of the Cattle Country.” This is the proud accolade of the town of Gobabis. And rightly so in view of its centrality in cattle breeding and consequently its essence to meat production in the entire country.
And to date the statue of the cow as one enters the town, still testifies to this honour. But slowly this accolade seems to be eroding and sooner rather than later it will be replaced by another, and this time a shameful and blemished one. It may not be long before this statue gives way, reminiscent of the way the statue of Saddam Hussein came tumbling down and with that all the good that this statesman may have imprinted on Iraq that was erased in a second.
Of late the unsavoury and distasteful vibes have been resonating from the town with the risk of spreading into the rest of the region. Nuances of corruption have been emerging, only reaching some of us on the periphery of the goings on within this town. But to the residents a whole Pandora’s box of corrupt practices have been an open secret to the residents, and needless to say to the powers that be, including the corruption busting agency. This should by no means be construed to mean honest and law-abiding residents of the town are in any way implicated. No, the buck seems to stop with the host of civil servants working in government offices, ministries and agencies (OMAS), with the little trickle down effect, if any at all, towards the natives of the town in terms of the dirty money from the said corruption.
To give you an idea of such practices the grapevine has it that a high-ranking official in the regional council management has been under investigation for such alleged corrupt practices. Not only this, another investigation is also underway to trace funds earmarked for the Build Together project that are unaccounted for mysteriously. For the town’s residents, this is not news, especially when it comes to procurement and tendering. One hears small-change tenders being awarded to create a semblance of openness, transparency and equitability. But come the big money tenders then all hell breaks loose as these are grabbed and arrogated by bigwig employees of OMAS misusing their offices and positions of trust. Procurement and tendering seem to have become some sort of an insider trading affair with those close to the economising committees and tendering procedures and channels applying their own hidden rules with no business ethics or morals. As much as these dealings are an open secret one only wonders whether the authorities that be, are, and have been aware of the unfolding situation in this town, which is quickly also busy spiralling towards other outreach centres in the region.
In fact, that the town and region are stealthily retrogressing and deteriorating into the abyss of corruption may be deduced from the seeming snail’s pace development in the region by all accounts. Of course, if funds earmarked for development are siphoned off at the centre, needless to say, the periphery is bound to suffer.
And the signs of such suffering by many outposts in the region are there for all to see. The Build Together houses have long been abandoned, some even at the foundation stage. This situation appears most prevalent in almost all constituencies in the Omaheke Region, Otjinene, Epukiro, Aminuis or Otjombinde you name it. Nuances of corruption, and mark my words these are no longer just nuances, but real manifestations of corrupt practices, hence the involvement of the agency investigating corrupt practices. Not only this, but time and again revelations of such practices have been in the media. One is particularly reminded of exposés in this newspaper time and gain in the past in respect of the allocation of resettlement farms. Only to now hear of the purported investigation. We cannot turn a deaf ear to the rumblings of discontent over the fact that some big shots in the region benefit doubly and even treble from resettlement programmes by ensuring that their next of kin are resettled, besides themselves. It has become common knowledge for the same people or circle of people to emerge as the beneficiaries of the resettlement programme in the region every time. In fact, one does not have to be an Einstein to know that those who have been resettled in the region are not necessarily the needy or displaced and thus in need of living space, or in need of actual grazing to relief the pressure on communal areas.
Those who have been benefitting often seem to be in some vantage positions, because they are well-connected to powerful and influential insiders who have been able to push them upfront. The most disturbing thing in this corrupting scenario is that anyone has as yet to face the full wrath of the law. Fighting corruption is not merely the duty of competent institutions, but smooth, effective and efficient governance. Hence the onus in this regard is first and foremost on the region’s governor who only assumed his duties last year. Before he is tempted to also get his hands into the dirty pie, it is advisable that he moves in with the urgency that the matter deserves, if only to prevent future malpractices and malfeasances. The Omaheke Region is due to embark on the tarring of the Gobabis-Aminuis-Aranos road. Tenders in this regard have already been advertised. Mark my words and do not be surprised if the names of the usual suspects once again emerge among the successful bidders, even for the most simplest of services!