By Petronella Sibeene WINDHOEK At least 23 choirs have so far entered for the anti-corruption song competition, which is aimed at discouraging people in high office from stealing from the poor and people in general to avoid corruption. Initiated by the Executive Director of the Women’s Action for Development (WAD) Veronica de Klerk, the project will officially be launched this Friday. During the launch, the 10 best-performing choirs will be selected by the adjudicators to go through to the final round. The three top winners will be announced on October 27. According to De Klerk, the three top choirs that will make the greatest impact on the nation with their interpretation of “Save our nation” song are eligible to win N$30 000 as first prize, N$20 000 as second prize and N$15 000 for the third position. Members of the public are encouraged to exchange any kind of anti-corruption messages by sending an SMS to 444 at a cost of N$3. De Klerk says participants in this venture stand a chance to win N$1 000 in mini draws on television. The winners will equally have an opportunity to break through to the final round and will similarly stand a chance to win a grand prize of N$10 000 at the end of the educative anti-corruption choir competition. “The aim is to encourage the most unassertive to speak out against corruption without fear, and to stop corruption in its tracks,” she said. The song, De Klerk says, was composed with the explicit purpose to establish an anti-corruption message with a simple melody and a contagious Nama-Stap beat. “It is a well-known fact that music and song can be used profoundly as a very strong and effective conveyor of an educational message which is intended to forcefully impact on the minds of people,” she said. The project, she said, is a milestone in breaking new ground for her organization that has established itself to reduce poverty and unemployment in the country through its rural women empowerment programmes. Corruption has of late been on the lips of every honest national in the country. Most poor people have expressed their shock to learn that people holding frontrunner positions engage in blatant stealing of the country’s resources at the expense of those struggling to survive (the poor). Based on this, WAD through this educational project has developed the passion and determination of the corporate world to root out corruption with a vengeance. De Klerk called on all Namibians to participate in the fight against corruption.