Unexplained wealth should be treated as a warning sign of possible corruption and referred to law-enforcement agencies for further investigation.
This is according to Financial Intelligence Centre director Bryan Eiseb at a recent African Ombuds Research Centre training session in Windhoek.
He said unexplained wealth shifts attention from the corrupt act itself to the benefits gained from that corruption.
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Complaints, investigations, declarations of interest, procurement records and other information that reveal a gap between legitimate income and accumulated assets should be treated as a red flag, he said.
Eiseb has been nominated to succeed Paulus Noa as director general of Namibia's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Two weeks ago, the National Assembly unanimously approved his nomination. He is now awaiting formal appointment by president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Eiseb at the training session said preventing corruption is one of the most effective ways to improve public services and protect public resources.
"Whenever a procurement contract is manipulated, a school or hospital remains an unfinished project.
"When a public official improperly awards a licence, an economic opportunity is denied to bona fide deserving applicants," he said.
Eiseb said the people who suffer most from corruption are often the most vulnerable members of society.
Stronger anti-money laundering systems make it more difficult for corrupt individuals to conceal illegally acquired wealth, he said.
"If we want to improve service delivery and reduce poverty, the fight against corruption must become a strategic national priority," political analyst Sam Kauapirura says.
He says lifestyle audits should be considered part of those vetting processes.
"What is needed now is political bravery and the willingness to allow anti-corruption institutions to do their work without interference," he says.
Kauapirura says Namibia should strengthen mechanisms that allow authorities to scrutinise wealth that cannot easily be explained.
"We should not create a culture of jealousy or persecute people simply because they are wealthy.
"But where individuals occupy influential positions, manage public resources or lead important institutions, and the source of their wealth cannot be clearly connected, the country should have instruments that allow the relevant authorities to investigate."
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The analyst says if those investigations show the wealth was acquired lawfully, those individuals should be cleared publicly.
However, where there are irregularities, he says the authorities should act to protect public resources and strengthen public confidence in government institutions.
