By Patience Makwele

Environment, forestry and tourism minister, Indileni Daniel has launched an internal investigation following the emergence of a sequence of assertions, specifically touching on six expats who are said to be taking credit for work done by Namibians, corrupt disbursement of funds from an investment fund as well as irregularities related to the 2024 Etotha Carnival. 

The minister’s probe comes hot on the heels of a Confidente investigation into further claims of engrained corruption, mismanagement, favouritism and nepotism within the ministry, following revelations by whistleblowers. 
In a letter dated 6 June 2025, addressed to Daniel, whistleblowers paint a damning picture of systemic malpractice, which they say undermines the integrity of the country’s crucial tourism sector.  

“In response to the whistleblowers letter and the questions forwarded to Daniel, the office confirms receipt of the letter referred to on 17 June 2025,” Daniel’s office said on Thursday.  “We take the allegations very seriously and we are in the process of launching preliminary internal investigations to establish the substantivenes of the allegations before we chart the way forward. 

Based on the findings, further audits or forensic investigations may follow. Transparency is non-negotiable in this Ministry.”

INCIDENTALS 

The document shines light on the Etotha Carnival accocridng to the records received a hefty budget of N$20 million to cater 10,000 attendees but only a paltry 3000 individuals attended. 

Furthermore, the whistleblowers claim that service providers at the carnival were handpicked with numerous suppliers personally linked to a Seimy Shidute, a senior staff member at the ministry. It also stated that the budget was inflated to include lavish expenses such as presidential villas, road clearance and a landing strip, with little to show in terms of tangible return on money.

Concerns about a lack of fairness with many caterers and vendors linked to Shidute and her associates allegedly receiving preferential treatment were also raised in the document.  Although the final report on the carnival records that no entry fees were collected on the last day of the event, the letter to the minister claim differently. 

In an effort to address these issues, the letter recommended an urgent forensic audit of the 2024 event, the establishment of an independent committee to oversee product development and the immediate removal of Shidute from sourcing quotations to ensure equitable regional representation.

In response, Shidute explained: “This event was happening after Omagongo Festival and at [during that festival] we received about 7 000 people. So we expected this event to be bigger than because it invited the whole country, targeting even international travellers. So we said we need to make provision at least for 10,000 attendants.”

Regarding the caterers, she said everything was above board and that the correct procurement procedures were followed. She confirmed that entrance fees were collected on the last day of the festival. 

We had booklets printed with tickets. When you get a ticket it will be verified with the [counterfoil] in the booklet.  It was the staff of the ministry that were at the entrance because it is our event and we expect everybody to of course to be truthful.

UNDER SCOPE

In addition, the document sent to Daniel, highlights Shidute’s influence in unfairly favouring certain initiatives in the management plan of the project of the Otsandi Cultural Village. The authors are calling for a comprehensive review of all procurement procedures associated with the village.

They also made mention of abuse of power through subsistence and travel (S&T) allowances for funded trips undertaken by junior staff.

EXPATS
One of the most critical claims around the engagement of foreign consultants for the Tourism Spatial Master Plan, with particular attention drawn to Joseph Okori. The letter casts doubt on the credentials of the six foreign consultants, hired by the ministry for the project. It is noted that some of expats have backgrounds in journalism, human resources, psychology or veterinary science and areas where local expertise exists.

It is sated that junior staffers are doing the actual mapping work while the expats only take credit for efforts of others.
Furthermore, a highly unusual claim is made that Okori's wife is being ferried in government cars as an expert.

The whistleblowers also called on the Ministry of Finance to thoroughly examine the consultancy contracts and ensure that projects are properly advertised to provide opportunities for Namibians.

However, Shidute explained that the ministry had to meet a certain deadlines to Tourism Spatial Master Plan. “Due to limited local capacity and previous failed attempts to recruit local consultants, the ministry engaged regional and international partners.  This is a national document. We cannot leave it to trial and error. We needed people with experience who can show they have done similar work.”

Responding to the Confidente’s queries Okori, directed the questions to the environment ministry.