By Charles Tjatindi
SWAKOPMUND
Skills shortage in the Public Service, over regulations and bureaucracy are some of the factors that contribute to corruption in both the public and private sectors.
The presence of these factors, noted the ACC Director, Paulus Noa, results in people turning to corrupt practices as a means to acquire the services they need.
Addressing Government officials, law enforcement agencies, and representatives of local municipalities, Noa appealed to leaders in both the public and private sector to improve service delivery at their respective institutions in a drive to curb corruption.
“When people are not getting the service they deserve, they tend to resort to corrupt means such as bribery, nepotism and speed money to get the service they need,” said Noa.
He called on employers not to set unfairly high standards of expectations from their employees, as this also leads to unethical practices thereby contributing to corruption. He noted that when work standards are set unfairly high and are seemingly unattainable, employees are forced to employ other means beyond acceptable legal ones to get the job done.
The ACC Director urged employers to offer market-related salaries to their employees, as failure to do so can lure employees to unethical acts. He appealed to employers to be consistent in disciplinary and arbitration procedures, as any inconsistency in such procedures pit employees against one another.
“When you pardon or punish an employee for something he did, remember that you are setting a precedence and should therefore be consistent with the same disciplinary method when dealing with the next employee. If you fail to do so, those employees that feel unfairly treated can do anything to sabotage your company’s operations,” noted Noa.
Talking about the issuance of corporate gifts, Noa noted that such practices should be treated with utmost caution, as givers of gifts normally require a service or such favour in return – one which would usually by-pass set standards and procedures. He noted that such practice is especially rife in traditional judiciary settings.
While not condemning these traditional set-ups, the ACC noted that chiefs are often accorded gifts such as livestock by people who are due to appear before an arbitration committee in which the said chief normally has the final say. Such “gifts” place huge pressure on the chief to remain unbiased and impartial during trial of the person who accorded him the gift, said Noa.
“I am not against culture, but culprits should be warned not to hide behind culture. We can tell the difference between an act committed purely in the name of culture and one that is tantamount to corruption,” warned Noa.