The Anti-Corruption Commission has highlighted the need for enhanced transparency to promote accountability and build public trust in the political system.
This follows concerns raised about political accountability, as noted in the anti-graft body’s recent annual report.
The ACC stated while members of parliament (MPs) are well-versed in the rules, “challenges such as failures to submit asset declarations continue to persist, especially in the National Assembly (NA). During the previous financial year (2021/2022), 45% of MPs in the NA failed to submit their declaration of assets.”
New Era recently reported that MPs generally do not take this responsibility seriously. Roughly 50% of MPs have not complied with the 30 April deadline this year as well.
This annual report on the implementation of the second National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan highlights the key achievements and obstacles encountered during this crucial period since its rollout in April 2022 up to 31 March 2023, which marks the 2022/23 financial year.
This report serves as a foundation for monitoring, evaluating and holding public entities accountable for the strategy’s implementation One of the key aspects covered in this report is the success achieved in raising awareness about corruption,
and promoting a culture of integrity among citizens. Furthermore, the report sheds light on progress made in law-enforcement, legislation and other effective measures devised for prevention.
It is important to acknowledge that implementing an effective anti-corruption strategy has its fair share of challenges. The annual report identifies key obstacles faced during this period, including limited resources allocated for anti-corruption measures, lack of ownership by critical sectors, late or non-reporting by the implementing institutions to the secretariat, and ongoing efforts to strengthen institutional frameworks to enhance transparency and accountability.
A key issue is the transparency of political party financing.
The Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) has implemented a compliance template as an in-house arrangement, which tracks party adherence to regulations.
This template is shared with the ACC quarterly. The report also indicates that local authorities are struggling financially, making it difficult for them to afford auditors to review their finances, as required by Section 140 of the Electoral Act. During stakeholders’ meetings held in 2022, a leader of one such organisation informed the commission that their organisation had just N$20 in its bank account, and could not afford to pay an auditor thousands of dollars to review their finances.
Consequently, the ECN is in the process of amending the Electoral Act to allow parties and organisations which cannot afford auditors to instead appoint accountants, or make a declaration under oath regarding their financial difficulties.
The ACC said it is working towards strengthening cooperation between the ECN, Parliament and the ministry of finance with regards to political parties’ funding, as well as conducting anti-corruption education and ethics training for political parties and registered organisations under the ECN.
Teeth
In June, the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) and Christian Democratic Voice (CDV) were deregistered as political parties in Namibia due to non-compliance with ECN regulations.
The NEFF failed to submit its audited financial statements for the 2022/2023 period, and did not publish the abridged versions of its 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 audited financial statements in two daily newspapers circulating throughout Namibia, as required by law.
This action serves as an example for other parties to ensure transparency and accountability. The NEFF had two seats in the National Assembly since March 2020, while the CDV held one seat.
The ECN has observed that many political parties and registered organisations are not fully compliant with these provisions. Non-compliance is often attributed to the limited funds available to some political parties and associations, particularly those without seats in Parliament, who struggle to afford auditors’ fees. It was also reported that even those with seats in Parliament often lack the structures, standard procedures or regulations necessary to ensure compliance.
New Era recently reported that between 2015 and 2023, N$1.3 billion was allocated to political parties represented in Parliament.
Specifically, between 2015 and 2020, the government allocated N$679.5 million to political parties, and from 2020 to 2023, N$592 million was distributed to political formations from the State’s coffers.
Resources
The financial resources were provided to Parliament to ensure its oversight role was carried out effectively.
Additional funding was allocated to the National Assembly and National Council during the mid-year budget review for 2022/2023. The estimated budgets increased by N$56.8 million to N$167 million for the National Assembly, and by N$22 million to N$102 million for the National Council.
In addition, political party funding was promptly disbursed to the parties on the first day of each quarter, as required by statute.
It was reported that measures were taken to ensure funds were loaded onto the payment system, and that monthly releases were available on the first day of each month, allowing timely spending.
Despite the public investing millions in political parties every year, little is known about how this money is spent, and once funds enter a political party’s bank account, transparency and accountability disappear.
In a stakeholders’ engagement held in 2022, which included the ACC, ECN and Parliament, the ECN indicated that it continued to observe a slow pace in the disclosure of public funding.
A similar situation was observed regarding Section 141, which deals with the disclosure of foreign and domestic financing of political parties, organisations or other entities.
The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) was one of the parties which refused to disclose the names of its supporters.
This refusal came at a time when the party had failed to disclose who funded the acquisition of 101 GWM P-Series pickups that the party paraded during its campaigns across the country. This fleet of vehicles led to nationwide speculation about who was financing the party, with New Era discovering in April a connection to Wilfred Muller, the finance manager at the International University of Management (IUM) and a party member. At the time, Muller admitted to having rented out the vehicles to IPC, but he was subsequently suspended by the tertiary institution. Despite investigating, IUM has, to date, refused to release a report on Muller’s suspension, or the details of the investigation.
“The ECN continues to implement deliberate interventions to educate political parties and local authority associations and organisations on their obligations through various written reminders,” says the ECN.