N$3.5b and the right to know The N$3.5 billion fraud, money-laundering and tax evasion case involving a local customs clearing business and several Chinese nationals is currently the talk of town. The high stakes matter and the case, which is before the Windhoek Magistrate's Court, has attracted huge interest since Namibian Sun broke the news just before Christmas last year. Owing to the high profile nature of the court case, there is a likelihood that this matter could drag on for a quite some time. The case has really raised eyebrows if one looks at the intense debate on social media. The media too, also struggled to get the facts from day one which proved to be futile, as the authorities have constantly sent us from pillar to post.
The police who are heading the investigation wouldn't elaborate when pressed on the matter last year, while the Bank of Namibia was also non-committal at the time.
It took almost two weeks for the central bank to pronounce itself on the matter.
It was only at the weekend that the bank managed to put together a media release, informing the public about the high profile case. Friday's court proceedings also proved helpful after it emerged that KPMG South Africa were called in to investigate possible money-laundering by the Bank of Namibia in June 2016, after the central bank had launched an investigation into the matter in February 2016.
As media people we fully understand that some investigations are sensitive and require extra preparation. It also takes time and care to obtain reliable results. But – this is just no ordinary case, and it is definitely in the public interest.
The public have the right to be informed about the general details of the case, especially in light of the fact that the matter is already before the court. The right of access to public information cannot be overemphasised.
Public institutions are there to serve the people and information sharing is just as critical. Instead of being reactive all the time, it is high time that our public institutions, who are supposed to “serve the public”, adopt proactive communication strategies.