Nairobi:Newly appointed Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director-General Bryan Eiseb has announced plans to create a multi-agency anti-corruption fusion centre aimed at enhancing the detection, investigation, and recovery of assets associated with corruption and financial crimes.

According to NAMPA, Eiseb envisions the proposed centre as a collaborative effort that would unify key government institutions to transform Namibia's approach to combating corruption from fragmented responses to a nationally coordinated strategy.

The centre would incorporate the expertise of the ACC, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), Bank of Namibia (BoN), Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA), the Namibian Police Force (NamPol), intelligence agencies, Business and Intellectual Property Authority (BIPA), Procurement Board of Namibia, Office of the Ombudsman, Auditor General, and the Office of the Attorney General, among others.

Eiseb, previously the FIC director, emphasized that the initiative would leverage the advantages of inter-agency cooperation against financial crimes. He highlighted recent successes that demonstrate the effectiveness of a unified governmental approach.

The centre is expected to integrate financial, regulatory, and criminal data to facilitate joint investigations while maintaining the ACC's statutory responsibilities. Eiseb stated that the focus would be on strengthening the detection of corruption and illicit financial flows in both public and private sectors, enhancing asset tracing, and recovering stolen assets for the Namibian people.

Eiseb underscored a shift to coordinated national enforcement, identifying public procurement, infrastructure, natural resources, extractive industries, and State-owned enterprises as priority areas for immediate action. He also committed to a more proactive stance in investigations, ensuring that the ACC would not solely rely on reports of corruption.

Bryan Eiseb takes over from Paulus Noa, who had been at the helm of the ACC since its inception in 2006.