Corruption - A social disease (Part 86): Incentives to inspire the reporting of corruption
Incentives should be created to motivate people to resist, report and fight corruption, to protect the integrity of the Namibian society and in effect all systems and industries.
People should be protected to take the risk of losing their jobs, not to be intimidated and not to be scared by death threats. These incentives are also needed for rewarding the risk of reporting corruption and protecting whistleblowers from intimidation and harassment.
Compared to welfare systems in Scandinavian countries (Lidegaard), Namibia is not a country with a flexible labour system where people can rely on social welfare when they lose their jobs.
CARROTS AND STICKS
Namibians need encouragement and incentives ("carrots") for commitment, as well as penalties ("sticks") for non-compliance to corruption related measures.
The Anti-Corruption Act 8 should be changed to award whistleblowers with 45-50 percent of the value of penalties imposed. Rewards should be substantial to make it worthwhile for whistleblowers to take the risk of reporting.
If more people report corruption, the attitude of the public can change over time and a new era of transparency can emerge. Legislation can also be changed so that money recovered due to whistleblowing can be used to fund the operations of the Anti-Corruption Commission to become a fully financally independent institution that report directly to a board elected by members of the public, based on no active political involvement, service to the community over many years and an absolute track record of integrity.
In drug trafficking, for example, a few million US$ dollars is "small change", while whistleblowers run high risks, even death. The judicial system should be changed so that the state provides adequate financial support for prosecuting cases involving corruption in the private sector (because it impacts also on the public sector). In cases of personal vendettas, culprits should be held personally liable for such costs.
References
Lidegaard, B. 2016. Lessons from the Scandinavian Welfare System. Article in The Namibian, 26 July, Windhoek.
Republic of Namibia. 2003. Anti-Corruption Act 8 of 2003. Government Gazette, Windhoek.
[email protected]
People should be protected to take the risk of losing their jobs, not to be intimidated and not to be scared by death threats. These incentives are also needed for rewarding the risk of reporting corruption and protecting whistleblowers from intimidation and harassment.
Compared to welfare systems in Scandinavian countries (Lidegaard), Namibia is not a country with a flexible labour system where people can rely on social welfare when they lose their jobs.
CARROTS AND STICKS
Namibians need encouragement and incentives ("carrots") for commitment, as well as penalties ("sticks") for non-compliance to corruption related measures.
The Anti-Corruption Act 8 should be changed to award whistleblowers with 45-50 percent of the value of penalties imposed. Rewards should be substantial to make it worthwhile for whistleblowers to take the risk of reporting.
If more people report corruption, the attitude of the public can change over time and a new era of transparency can emerge. Legislation can also be changed so that money recovered due to whistleblowing can be used to fund the operations of the Anti-Corruption Commission to become a fully financally independent institution that report directly to a board elected by members of the public, based on no active political involvement, service to the community over many years and an absolute track record of integrity.
In drug trafficking, for example, a few million US$ dollars is "small change", while whistleblowers run high risks, even death. The judicial system should be changed so that the state provides adequate financial support for prosecuting cases involving corruption in the private sector (because it impacts also on the public sector). In cases of personal vendettas, culprits should be held personally liable for such costs.
References
Lidegaard, B. 2016. Lessons from the Scandinavian Welfare System. Article in The Namibian, 26 July, Windhoek.
Republic of Namibia. 2003. Anti-Corruption Act 8 of 2003. Government Gazette, Windhoek.
[email protected]
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