Corruption - A social disease (Part 114): Integrity templates, audits and 'industry ready' students for tackling corruption

Johan Coetzee - Perceptions of corruption as measured by Transparency International (TI) and other indices such as the Afro Barometer Survey executed in 35 African countries as well as the Freedom House Index can provide indications whether corruption in Namibia is increasing, decreasing or stabilising.

Integrity templates can be developed to baseline the level of trust, the quality of relations among institutions constituting core institutions (also known as the eleven pillars of a sustainable society), namely the legislative, executive, judiciary, Auditor-General, Ombudsman, other watchdog agencies, public service, media, civil society, private sector and international actors (Transparency International, Pope).

Frequent audits of relations between institutions that form part of the eleven pillars, i.e. specialised bodies to prosecute corruption as part of the judiciary (core institution); human rights oversight institutions (core institution, the Ombudsman); TI and the United Nations Global Compact (core institutions of international actors), can assist the Anti-Corruption Commission to draft more holistic and effective anti-corruption strategies. Controls are needed in the public service, e.g. organisational management controls (very limited in Namibia), financial management controls, e.g. pre-budget statements (lacking in Namibia).



THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING

For guidance and industry training of private and public sector students, including public officials, Work Integrated Learning (WIL) and professional standardisation mechanisms are needed in education to reduce the waste of limited resources (a form corruption). The Namibian Institute of Public Administration and Management (NIPAM) can partner with the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), the University of Namibia (UNAM), the International University of Management (IUM), the Namibia Employers Federation (NEF), the Namibian Manufacturers Association (MAN), the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and other to provide tailor made WIL and apprenticeship programs to produce "ready made" students for the industry.

These institutions can collaborate to create standardised programs for public and private sector management students studying at tertiary institutions. Such programs can benefit students (being productive from day one), the industry (to select the best students and reduce time spend on training) and tertiary institutions (increased sponsorships by the industry).

Various tertiary programs in Namibia provide excellent theoretical education in training students with the ability to think holistic, however fail miserably in preparing students for day-to-operations in the industry. Together with integrity templates and audits of relations between institutions to work towards a common goal, producing "industry ready" students can make a significant impact in reducing waste of resources and tackling corruption.



References



Pope, J. 2000. Confronting Corruption: The Elements of a National Integrity System (The TI Source Book). Berlin and London: Transparency International.

Transparency International. 2010. National Integrity Systems Assessment Toolkit.

[email protected]