WINDHOEK - Three Cabinet ministers have come out of their shells, joining public condemnation of the Fishrot scandal in which two Namibian politicians and their cronies allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for fishing quotas.
The ministers of mines and energy, Tom Alweendo and public enterprises Leon Jooste took the moral and ethical ground condemning in the strongest possible terms the Fishrot corruption that led to the arrest of former fisheries minister Bernhard Esau and ex-justice minister Sacky Shanghala. The two are part of four others implicated in dodgy deals of the bribery scandal involving N$103 million. As he joins the outraged public, Alweendo said the recent revelation about the plunder in the country’s fishery resources that is known as “Fishrot” is reprehensible and needs to be condemned by “all of us”. “What makes it even more deplorable is the fact that it was perpetrated by those entrusted with public office leadership,” Alweendo said on Twitter.
“This is a sign that corruption in our society could be more endemic than it has been acknowledged, and that we as the government and trustees of public interest, need to be vigilant,” he added.
“Namibia, a country with vast natural resources, is vulnerable to exploitation in other sectors,” he said, adding that Namibians should demand institutions responsible for holding public office bearers accountable ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
“Namibia is the only country we have and we need to protect its interests and its people,” said the former minister for economic planning and director general of the National Planning Commission (NPC).
On his part, Jooste said much has been said about the infamous Fishrot scandal and every Namibian has a right to be very angry.
“I am personally devastated when I consider the social, financial and reputational consequences of these actions,” Jooste said on his Twitter page.
Alweendo and Jooste’s condemnation follows that of finance minister Calle Schlettwein who on Sunday after watching the ‘Anatomy of the Bribe’ documentary aired by Al Jazeera tweeted the documentary shows a typical case of resource looting from a developing country by a multinational company with the involvement of few highly placed and influential Namibians.
“It is criminal. All must be prosecuted. The process has started, must be completed,” said Schlettwein.
Meanwhile, the Namibia Law Association (NLA) on Wednesday called on the Law Society of Namibia (LSN) as the statutory body regulating legal practitioners to act pro-actively against lawyers Sisa Namandje and Sacky Kadhila-Amoomo who are implicated in the Fishrot scandal.
The spotlight turned to Namandje and Amoomo after the ‘Anatomy of the Bribe’ aired by Al Jazeera on (DStv 406) at 22h00 last Sunday.
The documentary on Sunday filmed both Namandje and Amoomo implicating themselves in suspicious activities.
“We call on the LSN, as the statutory body regulating legal practitioners, to act pro-actively under the circumstances. The NLA appeals on the LSN to afford those implicated a fair opportunity to respond to all allegations that may be levelled against them,” said NLA governance council chairperson Taswald July.
July said as a professional body, NLA consider allegations made against Namandje and Amoomo very serious and accept that it has a potential to taint the image of the legal profession in the country, adding that the association is ready to assist the law society where necessary, should it be called upon.
“We hereby inform members of the public that the legal profession being a noble profession, is built upon upholding integrity, honesty and adherence to the rule of law. All legal practitioners upon their admission to the profession of law commit themselves to upholding the constitution and undertake to respect the Republic,” said July in a media statement on Wednesday.