Corruption burdens the youth

JEMIMA BEUKESWINDHOEKThe cost of corruption is paid for by ordinary people, said Namibia's youngest elected member of parliament, Ina Hengari, during her maiden speech in the National Assembly this week.She also advocates radical reforms to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to give it teeth to prosecute high-profile cases and go after the “big fish”.According to her, it is the young people who cannot find jobs that pay for the rampant corruption in Namibia.“Because money intended for development has been used to buy a holiday home and a Range Rover for a comrade. Unemployed graduates do not have connections or do not carry a certain surname, when those with certain connections are able to secure jobs without degrees,” she said.Invisible enemyHengari added that corruption is an invisible enemy that hides in the shadows of the boardrooms of government ministries and state-owned enterprises.According to her, it means nothing for the government to allocate millions of dollars to the Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) when it is gobbled up by corruption.“Why have we not shown the same seriousness and commitment to fight the invisible enemy that is corruption, as we have with corona? It is because of the failure to effectively fight this social ill that young people in this country continue to struggle to find employment after graduation or completion of their studies,” she said. ACC budgetHengari said money can no longer be thrown at the ACC without the nation asking itself whether the institutional and legal framework exists for that money to mean anything and make a dent against corruption.According to her the ACC budget of N$61 million has made no difference to the pervasiveness of corruption in Namibia.“The Anti-Corruption Commission is a necessary weapon against the invisible enemy that is corruption,” she said.jemima@namibiansun.com

Corruption burdens the youth

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-29

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Corruption burdens the youth

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-29

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