THE
ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE
Statement
during the High-Level Political Conference for the Purpose
of Signing the
United Nations Convention against Corruption
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen
On behalf of
the Namibian delegation, I join others before me who congratulate you, Mr.
President, and the entire Bureau, for your election. We wish you success in
your endeavors. I would like to thank the Government of Mexico and the people
of
I would also
like to congratulate the members of the Ad Hoc Committee and its Bureau, for
all the hard work and determination which has brought into being this long
awaited Global Instrument, and pay tribute to the memory of Late Chairman
Ambassador Hector Charry Samper,
his contribution to this mammoth tasks will always be remembered.
Corruption is
an evil practice which has the capability of incapacitating our governments
from performing their delivery functions to those that can least defend
themselves against the costs of corruption namely the poor, the weak, the
vulnerable and the children who will ultimately bear the brunt of mismanaged
societies, waste and fraud.
Since
independence at the beginning of the last decade of the just ended century, the
Namibian Government has placed constitutional measures in place to root out
corruption from public institutions. In terms of the Namibian Constitution, the
Ombudsman has a duty to investigate complaints of alleged acts of corruption
committed by public officials, and in the exercise of these powers, culprits
have been put before the criminal justice system. Where necessary, the
President appoints special investigative Commissions of Inquiry to probe
allegations of corruption, and the Namibian Police, in the exercise of its
functions, also investigates complaints made to it.
Over the
years, however, advantage has been taken of oversights in the legislative
frameworks, as legislators cannot foresee all eventualities during the law making
process, and in order to close all loopholes, Namibia has passed the
Anti-Corruption Act of 2003 (Act 8 of 2003) proscribing a vast array of corrupt
acts, attempts and conspiracies. This statute augments a program called the
National Integrity Promotion Programmed, launched with the purpose of
cultivating an upright society free of corruption and its attendant evils.
Prosecutorial
powers are, however, constitutionally vested in the Prosecutor-General, an
Office which resorts under my Office, but functions independently.
This aspect of
our Anti-Corruption statute embodies the separation of powers doctrine which is
the bedrock of our Constitution and acts as a check and balance in the very
machinery that checks upon society. The Commission is obliged to report any
contravention of offences to the Prosecutor-General for prosecution, and the
Prosecutor-General can delegate the prosecution of such contraventions to the
Commission, but the decision to prosecute lies with the Prosecutor-General, who
is review able by court action.
Together with
our International Co-Operation in Criminal Matters Act, (Act 9 of 2000), the
Extradition Act, (Act 11 of 1996), the Foreign Courts Evidence Act, (Act 2 of
1995) and the Criminal Procedure Act, (Act 51 of 1977), the Anti Corruption Act
forms part of Namibia's arsenal against
corruption and organized
crime.
We are,
however, cognizant of the fact that a legislative measure is not the alpha and
omega to the much wider problem at hand. We as a nation, and together as people
of the world, will succeed if we also gear efforts towards the total
elimination of all conceivable situations which may encourage corruption, along
with convincing our societies of the danger posed by corruption to our
democracies and systems of government, and to small economies such as that of
Mr. President,
With this
Convention, which I had the honor of signing yesterday already, we launch off a
legally sound globalize response to corruption and organized crime, which will
bolster national and regional efforts. Corruption and organized crime, like
HIV/AIDS and terrorism, know no boundaries. Every country is a potential
bonanza field, and every country is a potential haven. With this Convention,
the lords of the dark world of crimes will be unable to reap the fruits of
their deeds, as the Convention makes a major breakthrough in providing for the
return of assets by the State Parties to the countries from which they where
stolen.
Therefore,
under cover of the underlying fortitude of international co-operation and
assistance based on the fundamental principles of sovereignty, equality among
Member States and the countenance of international law, we can effectively
prevent, detect and repress corruption.
I am convinced
that if the efforts laid down by this conference obtain both political and
public support, we will succeed, and the future generations will live in a more
ethical society, in which public sector and private business activities are
conducted in a fairer and cleaner manner.
I thank you.