Let a priest talk about morality on Chinese bursaries - Mbumba

Written by Patience Nyangove and Max Hamata
Thursday, 05 November 2009

IN what could be a clear admission of wrong doing by the top brass including President Hifikepunye Pohamba whose children benefited from Chinese scholarships, a senior Cabinet minister this week said only a priest can talk about morality.



Addressing a media briefing in Windhoek Monday, Minister of Education Nangolo Mbumba who was flanked by Presidential Affairs Minister Albert Kawana and Information Minister Joël Kaapanda said it was not his responsibility to say whether those who received the scholarships are morally wrong.

“As for morality only a priest can talk about that,” Mbumba said responding to a question whether it was morally right or wrong for senior Government officials to “grab” scholarships at the expense of students from less privileged families.

The three ministers did not deny that indeed President Pohamba’s daughter together with a number of other senior government officials’ children benefited from the scholarships.

Despite the press conference being the third in as many weeks, neither Mbumba, Kaapanda nor Kawana could explain satisfactorily why only senior government officials’ children and relatives benefitted.

Although the Chinese Embassy has repeatedly said the children of the elite who received the scholarships went through the Ministry of Education, Mbumba also repeated his Permanent Secretary, Vitalis Ankama’s denial that they had anything to do with the 22 children and relatives of the top brass in China.

“We can only account for 10 scholarships we dealt with. The Chinese are the best people to explain about the 22. I have no idea on the broad interests of the Chinese. They are not bribing us how can they bribe us with scholarships?” Mbumba questioned.

He said there was no corrupt relationships between the senior government officials and the Chinese because the scholarships were not given to the officials but their children and relatives.

“It’s not the Ministers who are being sponsored by the Chinese,” Mbumba said.

He also claimed that the 22 children did not all leave for China in August but in small groups over a period of time.

However, a list from the Chinese Embassy shows that a majority of the children left this August.

Meanwhile, the Legal Assistance Centre, director, Norman Tjombe, has dismissed government’s explanation on the issue saying it does not add up.

Tjombe said the Namibian Constitution demands that all actions and decisions of the Government be taken fairly and reasonably.

“Frankly, any of the deserving poor students, whose applications for scholarships were rejected by Government, would be able to mount a successful challenge in the courts on the constitutionality of the decisions to award the scholarships to students whose parents are in favourable financial position to pay for the studies. Such awards can never be fair or reasonable (thus are constitutional) considering the high levels of poverty and lack of education amongst the poor in our country.”

Among the high flying government officials whose children and relatives have benefitted are Pendukeni Ithana, daughter to Justice Minister Pendukeni Ivula-Ithana; Nathanael Pashto Nghidinwa, son to Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Rosalia Nghidinwa’s who is studying medicine; Ujama Nujoma and Hiskia Asino cousins to Deputy Justice Minister Utoni Nujoma and Selma Utoni daughter to Director of Mines and Energy, Selma Utoni.

President, Hifikepunye Pohamba’s daughter Ndapanda Pohamba, Justus Namoloh, the Defence Minister’s son; Ernesto Ndeitunga, the Nampol Inspector General’s son; and Phillipus N. Esau, the Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy’s son.

On the list is also Lenna Ya Kasita, the Deputy Minister of Lands and Resettlement’s daughter, Naukalemo Nghimtina, the Minister of Mines and Energy’s daughter; and Patrick Lungameni Mushimba, a relative of the former First Lady, Kovambo Nujoma.