If you know I’m stealing, report me to the ACC – Kandjoze

Namibia’s National Planning Commission (NPC) director general says corruption claims levelled against him are baseless.

Obeth Kandjoze urges critics to provide evidence or keep quiet.

His tenure as former minister of mines and energy is marked by one of Namibia’s most infamous scandals – the Namib Desert Diamonds (Namdia) saga.

Under Kandjoze’s stewardship, Namdia was created as a state-owned company to market diamonds, but became synonymous with backroom deals, political favouritism and alleged profiteering by a well-connected elite.

In August 2017 Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director general Paulus Noa expressed concern about Kandjoze being accused of using Sections 44 and 45 of the Diamond Act of 1999 to hand-pick the company named C-Sixty for Namdia’s multimillion-dollar diamond evaluation contract.

The deal reportedly enriched its beneficiaries with a staggering N$130 million.

As previously reported by The Namibian, a confidential report presented to former president Hage Geingob in 2018 exposed that Kandjoze allegedly misled the ACC regarding this appointment.

Kandjoze insists he is innocent.

“If you know Kandjoze is stealing . . . go report me to the ACC. There are enough bodies – rather than manufacturing your own fictions in your head.

“Please go there and say this man lives above his means. I was at the mines [ministry] and was told I am corrupt.

So I left,” he says.

Kandjoze was speaking at an event on the socio-economic impact of green hydrogen in Windhoek yesterday.

He is one of a few Cabinet ministers who were in the past investigated for corruption at Geingob’s request.

In February 2018, Geingob moved Kandjoze to the economic planning portfolio from the mines and energy portfolio.

“You say I am corrupt. Show the evidence . . . “Help those who want to get this country somewhere. If it’s me who steals . . . others have made laws, and the laws are looking after themselves today.

“So come on, gentlemen. Let’s not be unfair. It’s not right,” he said.

Kandjoze, who is also the chairperson of the Namibia Green Hydrogen Council, rejected criticism about a lack of transparency on Namibia’s green hydrogen plans.

“We are not an exclusive body that doesn’t engage with anyone. Our structure ensures that all work is compiled and reported to the council, which then channels submissions to the Cabinet for final decisions,” he said.

Kandjoze said with 12 Cabinet ministers serving on the council, it does not operate in isolation.

“We function much like a Cabinet committee, though we are not formally set up as one.

A Cabinet secretariat attends our meetings, and all submissions ultimately reach the president, who heads the Cabinet,” he said.

Kandjoze highlighted the systematic flow of information between the council and the Cabinet.

“Decisions are informed by thorough submissions from the council, ensuring that no entity functions unto itself.

This setup ensures transparency and accountability in how we operate,” he said.

The director general reassured stakeholders of the council’s accessibility, inviting those seeking clarity on its operations to engage with it.

“If you have any questions, there is a council headed by a chairperson. You can engage us through the proper channels,” he said.