Africa-Press – Namibia.
Parliamentarian Abed Hishoono of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) has given notice to question Sanet Steenkamp, Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture, on 25 September 2025, over the alleged misappropriation of funds at the National Youth Service (NYS).
This follows a damning report by the auditor general, which issued an adverse audit opinion on NYS accounts for the financial years ending 31 March 2022, 2023, and 2024. The report concluded that the financial statements do not fairly present the position of the institution, pointing to what Hishoono described as a “complete collapse of financial control and governance.”
Serious irregularities were brought to light by the auditor general, including the failure to combine the financial records of a fully owned subsidiary, major misstatements, understated liabilities totalling millions of dollars, inflated assets, and persistent overstatement of revenue. With obligations surpassing assets by N$101.6 million, the NYS was deemed technically insolvent.
According to the audit, NYS unlawfully withheld N$82 million in employee income tax from the Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), worsening the situation.
According to Hishoono, the results bring up pressing issues of accountability. He questioned, “Why haven’t the board of management and the accounting officer been held accountable for this disastrous governance failure?” He also insisted that the minister explain her immediate strategy for resolving the N$82 million that is outstanding to NamRA and the penalties that will be imposed on those involved for breaking the Income Tax Act.
In order to guarantee that NYS can eventually deliver financial accounts that are “legal, credible, and trustworthy”, he also pushed for a thorough ministerial report to Parliament outlining the procedures to fix each finding.
The National Assembly is expected to debate the matter next week.
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