Etosha Park deal to NA

THE controversy around a multibillion-dollar development deal from the US government could come to a head in the National Assembly today, when parliamentarians will be asked to ratify it.

Minister of Works and Transport Helmut Angula, who during his tenure as the Director General of National Planning Commission concluded the agreement, yesterday gave notice that he will table a motion on the endorsement of the deal. The US$300 million development package through the US government’s Millennium Challenge Account has ruffled feathers among the ruling party’s youth wing.The Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) charges that the provisions are tantamount to giving tourism concessions to the Americans on their terms.A particular bone of contention is a lack of clarity about concessions linked to the Etosha National Park.They claim that the US government, through private investors from that country, intend to take over Etosha as part of the US$300 million grant.The US Embassy in Windhoek has dismissed allegations that supplementary agreements providing for tourism lodges and concessions are meant for US businesses.Government is expected to address the issue at a press conference in Windhoek today.Angula, who is no longer the Director General of NPC, is expected to face serious opposition from his own comrades in Parliament today, as everything points to a deep divide in Swapo over the deal.The Namibian learnt late last night that the motion might be thrown out by a “no” vote by his own fellow Swapo Party comrades.Swapo has 53 seats in the 72-seat National Assembly while an additional six non-voting members are appointed by the Head of State.”This agreement will not be passed in Parliament (by Swapo MPs), I can assure you,” a well-placed source told The Namibian late yesterday.The so-called ‘MCA Namibia Compact’, a US$300 million development package for Namibia’s tourism, education and agricultural sectors spread over five years, kicked up mountains of dust recently when SPYL publicly accused Minister Angula of “selling parts of the Etosha National Park to the Americans” under the deal and called for his resignation.They also called for the head of former Environment and Tourism Minister Willem Konjore, who was reshuffled to the Youth, Sports and Culture Ministry in April this year.Both Konjore and Angula were moved from their respective ministries at the same time.After informing the the National Assembly yesterday that he would table a motion today, requesting the House to ratify the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Compact, the document then was distributed among MPs, again without the controversial addendum in which the alleged conditions are spelled out.According to a source, the document is not complete.A five-page section, shown to The Namibian, which contains the paragraphs where it is agreed that “at least two lodges” in the Etosha National Park and two more in other Namibian game parks would be up for grabs as joint ventures through an open tender system, is missing.The missing section is headed ‘MCA Namibia Compact – Annexes and supplementary agreements’.However, the section in question does not make mention of giving US companies or any other foreigners preference over these tourism concessions in question.The US$300 million development package through the US government’s Millennium Challenge Account has ruffled feathers among the ruling party’s youth wing.The Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) charges that the provisions are tantamount to giving tourism concessions to the Americans on their terms.A particular bone of contention is a lack of clarity about concessions linked to the Etosha National Park. They claim that the US government, through private investors from that country, intend to take over Etosha as part of the US$300 million grant.The US Embassy in Windhoek has dismissed allegations that supplementary agreements providing for tourism lodges and concessions are meant for US businesses.Government is expected to address the issue at a press conference in Windhoek today.Angula, who is no longer the Director General of NPC, is expected to face serious opposition from his own comrades in Parliament today, as everything points to a deep divide in Swapo over the deal.The Namibian learnt late last night that the motion might be thrown out by a “no” vote by his own fellow Swapo Party comrades.Swapo has 53 seats in the 72-seat National Assembly while an additional six non-voting members are appointed by the Head of State.”This agreement will not be passed in Parliament (by Swapo MPs), I can assure you,” a well-placed source told The Namibian late yesterday.The so-called ‘MCA Namibia Compact’, a US$300 million development package for Namibia’s tourism, education and agricultural sectors spread over five years, kicked up mountains of dust recently when SPYL publicly accused Minister Angula of “selling parts of the Etosha National Park to the Americans” under the deal and called for his resignation.They also called for the head of former Environment and Tourism Minister Willem Konjore, who was reshuffled to the Youth, Sports and Culture Ministry in April this year.Both Konjore and Angula were moved from their respective ministries at the same time.After informing the the National Assembly yesterday that he would table a motion today, requesting the House to ratify the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Compact, the document then was distributed among MPs, again without the controversial addendum in which the alleged conditions are spelled out.According to a source, the document is not complete.A five-page section, shown to The Namibian, which contains the paragraphs where it is agreed that “at least two lodges” in the Etosha National Park and two more in other Namibian game parks would be up for grabs as joint ventures through an open tender system, is missing.The missing section is headed ‘MCA Namibia Compact – Annexes and supplementary agreements’.However, the section in question does not make mention of giving US companies or any other foreigners preference over these tourism concessions in question.