The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs raised service deficiencies at the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) due to the absence of regional infrastructure. 

This has prompted the committee to assess the ongoing Commission's capital projects in the |Khomas Region that seek to improve its operations and service delivery.

The ACC currently operates solely from its head office in Windhoek and lacks regional offices, and the committee requested a detailed report on the allocation and expenditure of funds.

"Now you have all of this; no, we don't have a building; we can't do that under the tree or in the open sun; we only want to verify that because we will never have money to put up everything we need, so this is why in phases, but once you spend that in phases, then it should be there. But in other areas, I can tell you that, as a whole cluster, money was spent on preverb courts to assist people so that they could not travel too far," said Tjekero Tweya. 

The ACC currently operates as both headquarters and a regional office. 

However, ACC Executive Director Tylvas Shilongo explained that the Commission faces challenges with manpower.

"Currently, because we have a challenge with manpower, we are very thin on the ground. If you spread this office, one portion will become the regional office, and the other will be the headquarters. You will have the same people doing the same work currently. That is what it is . It is our wish to have a regional office separate from here."

The Standing Committee on Legal Affairs also visited the office of the Ombudsman.

There, Ombudsman Basilius Dyakugha raised a concern that the office should not have aligned with the Ministry of Justice, and he has been advocating for the ministry to introduce a bill to delink the two.

"We don't know what the delay is now; if you remember two years ago or last year, the president even mentioned in his address that this was one of the bills that should have been tabled last year but never found itself in the National Assembly, so this year we are already in July and we are hearing nothing really about that bill."

-
Photo Credits
Windhoek Observer

Category

Author
Joleni Shihapela