The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) has embarked on a four-day Corruption Risk Assessment Workshop, aimed at identifying vulnerabilities in its systems and strengthening measures to prevent corruption.
The Assessment workshop is being conducted in collaboration with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and focuses on areas such as procurement, pharmaceutical supplies, human resources and other key ministry processes.
The Deputy Executive Director in the MoHSS, Dr Theo-Ben Kandetu, says that the ministry manages public resources and remains vulnerable to corruption risks.
"We have seen reports of stock data manipulation in our facilities, like the central medical stores. We have faced the unacceptable reality of artificial shortages of medicines, situations where medicines are allegedly diverted, forcing our public health facilities into costly emergency procurement exercises. Let me be clear. The abuse of emergency procurement rules to bypass transparency and artificially inflate prices is a direct threat to public health. When public funds are drained through systemic leaks, it is the ordinary, Namibian patient who pays the ultimate price."
He says the ministry is taking administrative measures against implicated staff members while investigations are ongoing and is cooperating with the ACC.
ACC Head of Director of Prevention, Education and Community Programmes, Marina Matundu, says the assessment is not an investigation but a preventative exercise to identify weaknesses before they are exploited.
"The CRA is therefore not an investigation or an exercise to find fault. No, we are not finding fault; we are not investigating. ACC has a mandate to investigate, but we are not here for investigations. It is a proactive prevention tool designed to identify vulnerabilities and strengthen systems before they are exploited."
The assessment is expected to help the ministry develop measures to close existing loopholes, strengthen internal controls and protect public licence resources.
The workshop will run for four days.