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Misappropriation of public funds compounds misery

Home National Misappropriation of public funds compounds misery

Outapi

Some residents of the Omusati Region believe poverty has escalated mainly due to the misappropriation of public resources by corrupt officials.

This, according to them, happens despite the creation of the Anti-Corruption Commission, whose mandate is both to combat and prevent curruption. They called on the newly created Ministry of Poverty Eradication to work hand in hand with the ACC in the fight against poverty. This emerged when the Ministry of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare held a consultative meeting with residents of Outapi in the Omusati Region last Thursday, where the discussions centred on the redistribution of wealth and poverty eradication.

Omusati is said to be one of the poorest regions in the country with a high rate of poverty and unemployment. According to a recent survey conducted by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) poverty levels in the Omusati Region stand at 28.6 percent, 2.6 percentage points above the national rate of 26 percent, while the unemployment rate stands at 38 percent, the majority of which are young people. In the whole region only 33 percent of residents have access to clean drinking water; 67 percent depend on canals and earth dams. Many residents, who spoke at the meeting, argued that the high level of poverty was mainly caused by misappropriation of public resources in the public sector. “I want the ACC [and the new ministry] to work together so that poverty can be eradicated. This corruption should be uprooted,” Josua Mutupumba, a resident of Omusati told the consultative meeting.

Residents also advocated for free tertiary education, so that everyone with good academic results would get an opportunity to further their studies.

On his part the Minister of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Reverend Zephania Kameeta, said poverty can only be eradicated if the wider society comes up with clear recommendations on how to address this social problem.

“Thus, these consultative meetings will afford us an opportunity to engage with you, as representatives of wider communities, including the poorest of the poor, and to propose workable and sustainable wealth redistributive strategies to eradicate poverty,” said Kameeta.

He said the consultative engagements would also enable Namibia to forge collaborative strategies with all relevant stakeholders, including private sector entities.

Kameeta also informed the gathering that his ministry would ensure initiatives and programmes that relate to poverty eradication and social welfare are implemented by different government offices, ministries and agencies.