OTJIWARONGO – Director general of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Paulus Noa has called on the public to participate in the upcoming regional consultative meetings to craft and develop the commission’s next five-year strategic plan.

Noa was speaking at Otjiwarongo on Monday during the official opening of a day-long consultative meeting. 

It was attended by heads of government ministries, community activists, church representatives, traditional authorities, as well as regional and local authority councillors.

He urged participants not to forget that preventing corruption by reporting corrupt activities is the most effective way to conserve national resources.

Noa said reacting to corrupt activities after they have occurred often means that resources have already been looted and may be difficult to recover.

“It may also mean that the ACC could spend more resources, even exceeding the looted funds, in fighting and investigating a particular case,” he said.

He added that institutions in the country should implement internal measures to combat corruption, rather than waiting for the ACC to intervene.

Noa noted that the first ACC strategic plan was formulated in 2016 and guided the commission’s operations until 2021. 

The second plan covered the period from 2021 to 2025.

“The next and third national ACC strategic and action plan will run from 2026 to 2030. It will incorporate the draft national ethics and ACC policy framework,” he said.

Noa stressed that the public should participate in the development of the third national ACC strategic plan, noting that inputs from grassroots level are crucial.

He said, during the upcoming regional consultative meetings, overview presentations will be made on the draft national ACC strategy and action plan for 2026 to 2030, as well as on the draft national ethics and ACC policy framework, to which members of the public are expected to contribute.

Otjozondjupa governor John //Khamuseb and newly appointed Otjozondjupa chief regional officer Gerson Karaerua also attended the meeting in Otjiwarongo. 

-Nampa