WINDHOEK – The chief of the !Oe#gan traditional community, Immanuel /Gaseb, says he will remain steadfast in his stance that a financial audit of the finances of the community funds be carried out. Any other report to the contrary, he says “is an attempt to create chaos and confusion in order to avoid or undermine the audit.”
“All community leaders, including me, must provide account, leaders must lead by example, and I shall thus have my audit report ready and available on or before 14 February 2014. I expect my fellow leaders to follow suit. It is our moral obligation to maintain transparency at all times, not only when explicitly required to do so by law or the demands of the community,” said chief /Gaseb in a statement.
The chief says the audit is necessary because he wants to ensure accountability on how the funds from donors are being utilised. As such he made a resolution on October 02 this year that the traditional authority would not receive donor funding until all the audit reports have been duly attended to and finalised. The traditional authority had resolved to have a comprehensive audit of its books for the last seven years, and all community councillors were requested to provide the chief with the account books, receipts, cheques and invoices for all income and expenditures of the traditional authority activities. The reports would be forwarded to Chris Brandt Attorneys for submission to Grand Namibia Auditors for Auditing. The chief also directed that any land distribution in the meantime should only be done with his “expressed consent with effect from 02 October 2013 to aid the auditing and to exclude any future tribal and political conflict and financial administration.”
“We cannot continue to operate in the darkness as to the financial status of the !Oe#gan Traditional Community. I cannot continue to solicit aid for the community in the absence of clear financial accounts. The donors are working hard for their money and land is a source of income for the traditional community. There must be accountability. I stand by the resolution of the community which calls for financial accountability,” the chief said.
By Staff Reporter