The country’s anti-graft watchdog has rallied behind President Nangolo Mbumba’s commitment to combat corruption in Namibia’s energy sector. This follows Mbumba’s promise to nip corruption in the bud when he officially opened Cabinet’s work for 2024.
In that address, Mbumba vowed his unwavering anti-corruption commitment and reiterated the government’s resolve to promote accountability and transparency by continuing to strengthen the policy measures aimed to fight against corruption.
It is commitment that has earned a place in the hearts of those leading the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
“The ACC commends President Nangolo Mbumba’s commitment to combat corruption in Namibia, particularly in the energy sector. The commission is elated by President Mbumba’s commitment to make Namibia a corrupt-free country. Corruption is a broader phenomenon which demands a multi-sectoral approach to effectively combat it,” ACC spokesperson Josefina Nghituwamata said.
According to the ACC, political will is the primary requirement in confronting the scourge of corruption.
“Corruption causes corrosive damage with long term effects on the economy. Corruption undermines the values of democracy, rule of law and good governance. Often the less privileged citizens suffer the consequences of corruption while benefiting few individuals,” she said.
The energy sector is one of few critical sectors that drive the economy to prosperity, she continued.
“It is commendable that the President commits himself to ensuring that effective policy measures are developed to curb corruption in the energy sector. Natural resources must be safeguarded and extracted to benefit the Namibian citizens as priority. Citizens are sovereign owners of natural resources. In this regard, the energy sector is vital to the economy and development,” she further stated. She went on to say transparency in the energy sector is most valuable, as it helps to prevent looting and foreign exploitation of natural resources to the detriment of empowerment of the masses while also serving as a catalyst for economic growth.
“Therefore, the policy measures must provide for greater transparency on contracts signed with foreign investors and shareholders as well as timely and regular reports on revenue and distribution of such revenue. Most vital to openness is a measure providing for the disclosure of direct and indirect beneficial owners,” she added.
The ACC hopes it will not be too long before Namibia, through the Ministry of Mines and Energy sector joins the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
“EITI requires companies to publicly publish, among others, what they accumulate as gross revenue, the taxation and royalties paid, what they pay to the government and shareholders. These undertakings are publicly shared. Namibia can learn from Norway which is a member of the initiative on good policies and laws regarding the publication of payments,” she noted.
Mbumba’s anti-graft push and the ACC call Namibia to join EITI were music to the ears of Institute for Public Policy Research executive director Graham Hopwood.
Reacting to the news yesterday, Hopwood said IPPR welcomes the ACC’s support for Namibia joining the EITI.
“By signing up to EITI, Namibia would be giving practical meaning to the late president [Hage Geingob]’s well-known saying, ‘transparency plus accountability equals trust’. It would be the most sensible way to fulfill the Harambee II commitment on transparency in the extractives sector under the effective governance pillar. And it would be in keeping with the objectives of the 2021-25 National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan,” Hoopwood said.
With oil and gas production on the horizon, it is even more important that Namibia takes an approach which opens the energy sector to public scrutiny with the aim of minimising corruption risks, Hoopwood stressed.
“At the moment, almost all the companies involved in drilling in the Orange Basin are supporters of the EITI including Shell, TotalEnergies and Qatar Energy. Where support seems to be lacking is in the mining sector where only two companies explicitly support the EITI, Dundee Precious Metals and Orano,” the veteran journalist noted.
Last year, the Ministry of Mines and Energy commissioned researchers to look at the options around joining the EITI.
Their report, New Era understands, was delivered to mines minister Tom Alweendo in the latter part of 2023. EITI, a multi-stakeholder organisation, builds trust between governments, companies and civil society.
The EITI requires the disclosure of information along the extractive industry value chain, from licensing to extraction, to how revenue makes its way through to the government, to how it contributes to the economy and wider society.
In doing so, the EITI strengthens management and corporate governance, promotes transparent and accountable natural resource management, and provides data that informs debate and reform in the extractive sector.
Presently, 57 countries implement the EITI standards. - emumbuu@nepc.com.na