The Government Institutions Pension Fund (GIPF) commemorated Global Ethics Day last week Wednesday, themed ‘Ethics Re-Envisioned’. 

The event reaffirmed GIPF’s commitment to fostering an ethical, transparent and accountable organisational culture towards ethics. 

The annual observance of Global Ethics Day was initiated more than ten years ago by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, based in New York, United States of America.

It is observed in countries all over the world. 

The observance of this day encourages individuals and institutions globally to reflect on the critical role of ethics in shaping just and responsible societies. The GIPF, fully supports the observance of this day, as it is in line with the fund’s values as an organisation that encourages ethical behaviour in the workplace. 

The hosting of stakeholders in observance of Global Ethics Day is further aimed at strengthening ethical awareness and reinforcing the fund’s core values of integrity and accountability.

Speaking at this year’s event, Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare said he has remained a strong advocate for embedding ethical governance and principled leadership across government institutions. 

“Corruption is a result of unethical conduct that negatively impacts on socio-economic development. It robs our country of resources and infrastructure development that was meant to improve the living conditions for our beloved Namibians,” Ngurare stated.

Advocate Bience Gawanas, a Namibian lawyer, diplomat and social justice advocate, who served as special adviser on Africa for the United Nations, highlighted the importance of integrating ethical standards into an organisation’s operations.  “Improving the standard of living of the marginalised and most vulnerable members of our society requires delivering effective and efficient service, which is a result of high ethical standards,” she said. 

Gawanas added that corruption takes resources away from the people who need it the most and need a better standard of living. She stated that we must be ethical in our dealings to create a better future for the Namibian child. 

She said organisations should create safe whistleblowing platforms to ensure the protection and safety of whistleblowers as they speak up and speak out, stating that corruption is a disease and ethics is the cure.  

GIPF CEO Martin Inkumbi stated that, when employees uphold integrity in their daily action, it leads to trust, which is the foundation of performance. 

He added that: “Ethics creates trust and breeds legitimacy in the eyes of all that we are associated with. It is, therefore, critical that we place ethics at the top of the fund’s agenda”. 

He said every decision made must reflect ethical considerations, as the cost of losing trust is immeasurable. 

Inkumbi encouraged stakeholder to speak out against unethical conduct, as accountability begins with everyone doing their part.