Obrein Simasiku
Member of Parliament and President of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) Mike Kavekotora has demanded for a forensic investigation into government’s mega projects where billions of dollars in taxpayers’ money was spent.
Kavekotora is of the view that such projects were designed and carried out to enrich a few individuals at the expense of the poverty stricken nation. Thus through this motion, he says it is an attempt to rescue the country from total collapse if the trend remains unabated.
“The motion calls for an in depth interrogation and analysis into various projects initiated by the executive whose value for money is questionable and where the project costs were inflated beyond the initial tender amounts. It has been my consistent and persistent contention that poverty in Namibia is man-made. Poverty in Namibia to a certain extend was created by the executive arm of the State. It is a myth and a cheap excuse to blame the South African apartheid regime for poverty in Namibia, 32 years down the line,” said Kavekotora in his strong worded motivation of the motion.
He further bemoaned the government’s strategy to fight poverty through social grants, saying it has proven to be futile and unsustainable.
“The administrative power vested in the people of Namibia was delegated to the Executive arm to run government affairs exclusively in the interest of the people of Namibia. It is doubtful and highly unlikely that the government of the day are indeed adhering to that delegated obligation, hence that explains why millions of Namibians are swimming in a pool of poverty in a rich country like ours.
The government must account and explain how they applied the country’s resources and for whose benefit these resources were allocated and utilized. The government must explain to the citizens of this country why resources are not being applied to fight poverty, unemployment and other social challenges.’’
The MP made reference to N$47 million that was paid over to London lawyers who were handling the Ovaherero and Nama genocide.
“I have had an opportunity to study documentations relating to this matter. What came out clear is that while the work was done by the Queen Council Lawyers, a Namibian brief case lawyer was planted there and a significant portion of the N$47 million was paid over to this brief case lawyer. It is not difficult to speculate for whose benefit this was done,” he claims.
He further argues that, if what is known was to be taken for the truth, he believes such could have been reflected in the economic indicators. He therefore, feels, the only way to understand the real objective and what went behind the scene is to subject government tenders and projects to a value for money test and to explain the variance between the initial project cost and the final project price.
On that note, Kavekotora referred to the Walvis Bay Oil Storage project, whose cost was allegedly hiked from N$3.4 billion to around N$ 7.4 billion, “if my source is not mistaken, this is a jump of over 110%.”
“Covid-19’s N$8.2 billion relief fund, SME Bank’s over N$240 million, Kora Awards, N$23 million, which disappeared in thin air without explanation as to what went wrong. In addition, the investigation should look into the Guardian Fund’s N$1.6 million, a project that was a brain child of Sacky Shanghala,” he said.
Outapi Correctional Services Earthworks amounting to N$650 million but still no facilities. NDF Farm purchases inflated from N$16 million to N$98 million without any explanation to date. The resettlement farm purchased by the former Minister of Lands Utoni Nuujoma for N$64 million while it was valued at N$14 million. Mpacha Airport renovation worth N$194 million. How was it awarded despite the limited resources and a moratorium on development projects, are some of the alleged dubious activities that Kavekotora lays out as focal projects for investigation.
“These and other projects demand answers from the executive. The nation need to know how their resources are being utilized and for whose benefit. Those in the executive found to be abusing state resources must be brought to book, charged and pay back what they have misappropriated,” he stressed.
As the United Nations International Day of Peace under the theme “End racism. Build peace’’ Geingob said that peace is a wonderful gift, but a fragile one if it is not handled properly.
‘’Peace is more than the absence of war; peace is about inclusivity and the development of all nations. Our United Nations as the premier guarantor of multilateralism, is our best bet to ensure a peaceful and prosperous humanity,” the President emphasised.
Namibia will continue to place a high premium on the noble aspirations of the United Nations as a beacon of hope and the equality of all nations, he said.
