Allexer Namundjebo
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Paulus Noa denies having any personal vendetta against Minister of Urban and Rural Development James Sankwasa amid a dispute over a consultancy contract awarded to the minister’s company.
In an interview with the Windhoek Observer yesterday, Noa said the ACC does not take matters personally.
“How can I have something personal against the minister? We are not investigating a person; we are investigating a process,” he said.
Noa explained that a report was filed with the ACC on 7 May, alleging that a consultancy contract was awarded to a firm linked to Sankwasa without following proper procurement procedures.
The complainant questioned whether the contract bypassed the procurement committee and whether other companies were considered.
“If it were the only local company, which other companies were considered? That is what we are trying to establish,” Noa said.
He added that the ACC’s job is to investigate and determine whether due process was followed.
“If we find wrongdoing, the case is referred to the prosecutor general. If there is nothing, we close the matter.”
Noa further said that the ACC’s ongoing investigation into the Ministry of Agriculture has nothing to do with Minister Sankwasa personally.
“Someone raised concerns about the merging of the ministry’s unit with the minister’s company. We’re just verifying the facts, not targeting anyone,” he said.
Noa responded to Sankwasa’s accusations that the ACC ignored previous reports of corruption, including the demolition of the Okahandja Hotel.
He said the matter was investigated and concluded.
“The report was submitted to the Prosecutor General’s office, and they found there were no grounds for prosecution. That marked the end of that investigation. We follow procedures set out by the government. Our duty is to investigate and make recommendations,” he explained.
This follows a clash after The Namibian published an article titled “ACC Investigates Sankwasa”, quoting Noa as saying the consultancy contract was awarded to a company “picked from nowhere without advertising”.
The comment drew a strong response from Sankwasa, who now accuses Noa of “the highest incompetence” and a “lack of understanding” of the Public Procurement Act.
In a statement leaked from a WhatsApp group titled Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah 1, Sankwasa pointed to Section 36 of the Procurement Act, which allows for direct procurement under special circumstances.
He said the contract was awarded before he joined the executive, and the company, founded in 2003, had served various ministries long before he assumed office.
“I did not get this consultancy as a minister. I was an ordinary citizen at the time, and everything was declared to the presidency,” Sankwasa said.
He then accused the ACC of failing to act on major corruption cases. Sankwasa said he and former Minister of Works and Transport John Mutorwa presented detailed documents on irregularities in the Katima Mulilo Airport tender to the ACC, but no action followed.
He also cited inflated demolition costs of the Okahandja Hotel and missing funds in a Namibia-Botswana charcoal project as cases that the ACC ignored.
“Now that I’m exposing corruption in my own ministry, he attacks me? He is not defending the law; he is defending a decaying system,” said Sankwasa.
He described the ACC as a “toothless dog” and called for Noa’s removal. “Even monkeys, chickens, and dogs know how incompetent this man is,” he said.
The Namibian Sun published an article titled “ACC Hits Back at a Liar and Venomous Sankwasa”, prompting the minister to question the ACC’s professionalism.
“Am I a liar for asking a public institution to act? Is it venomous to point out incompetence?” he asked.
Sankwasa said the ruling Swapo party is losing credibility because of corruption and institutional failures.
“Corruption is eating the party from within. If we don’t act, the voters will.”
Despite the tension, the minister maintained his stance. “I was appointed to serve the people, not to protect incompetence. Fighting corruption comes with enemies, but I will not be silenced.”
