Linekela Halwoodi

SWAKOPMUND - Swakopmund constituency councilor Juuso Kambueshe has called on the establishment of a law that will compel all government servants to declare their assets.
He made this statement during a handover ceremony of computer equipment to SMEs in Swakopmund this week.
During this address, he argued that certain characters are able to get away with covering up illicit sources of income, as there is an absence of a law compelling all public servants to declare their source of income.
He also narrated that during his term as Swakopmund mayor, he dismantled factions that were on a course plan to hijack the resources of the town.
“When I was a mayor of Swakopmund, I started dismantling these factions that are in proximity to power and economic coordinates. I said Swakopmund must be a town for all people. I said Swakopmund needs to be careful,” he said.
He added that the Swakopmund Municipality had loopholes, as it did not have sustainable development strategies, causing the deprivation of land to ordinary Swakopmund residents, as land would cost as much as it would on the private market.
 “What happened was it was enriching only a certain few. When I started becoming a nuisance to those people that are punching in the coordinates of where the economy must go, they started throwing me with mud, saying Kambueshe is corrupt and all that nonsense,” he added.
During the meeting, Kambueshe said people in politics who intend to become public servants should be instructed by a law to declare their assets. 
“Whether you are a councillor, minister or deputy minister, we need to establish a law that obligates you to declare your assets. I said it to these factions here who thought they would be in charge of the economy in perpetuity, and they shut up quickly. Because I started making them uncomfortable,” he said.
Kambueshe also said the public must be wary of people who are carrying agendas that are not beneficial to the public: “those are the people being used to run around with all these activities that deprive them of progress”.
He added that asset declaration will expose the fraudulent activities of public officials who have been put in charge of managing billions of state funds. 
“You cannot have a constituency councillor who is getting into office but we do not know you well. It should be compulsory to declare. And that is how I have shut up a lot of people. Let’s look at who got land in Swakopmund. How was it acquired?” Kambueshe questioned.
He also added that “most of the corruption is in the private sector. However, if you want to be in government, you must declare. Let it be a criterion. We must stop shifting blame on corruption”.