Govt is Swapo’s cash cow

SWAPO’S latest financial statements show that the party received a combined subsidy of over N$260 million from the government from 2013 to 2017.

However, the report, presented at the party’s recent congress, failed to provide insight into how much its secretive business empire contributes to party coffers.

There are fears, however, that some leaders are pocketing money from the party businesses.

The report comes at a time when there are questions about why the party did not account for N$150 million received from satellite broadcaster MultiChoice Namibia, and N$30 million that disappeared in the failed SME Bank.

New party president Hage Geingob promised to clean up the party’s finances and restructure the companies that operate under a cloud of secrecy and murky governance.

Swapo’s audited financial statements show that the party relied heavily on the government for funding, despite owning a vast empire that appears to have been turned into the private wealth generator of a few party officials.

Figures in the report presented at the congress show that the party received around N$300 million since 2013, of which N$260 million came from government. The N$260 million includes the 2013 annual government subsidy of N$21 million, N$36 million in 2014 and N$28 million in 2015, after which the subsidy amounts jumped significantly following the increase of members of parliament, and new rules around political party funding.

The government pays a political party based on the number of seats it occupies in parliament.

A parliamentary seat was worth N$390 000 in 2014, but the figure jumped to around N$960 000 in 2015.

The ruling party received around N$80 million last year, and close to N$100 million this year from the state.

Besides the N$260 million, the report states that N$8,2 million was raised from membership fees, N$9 million from donations and other activities, while N$7,4 million was labelled as dividends received.

Political parties rarely account publicly for the money they receive from the taxpayer.

The move by Swapo to reveal its financials to congress delegates comes after the Popular Democratic Movement (formerly the DTA) released its financial statements.

Swapo’s financial report also indicates that spending on travel and accommodation had increased from N$1,4 million in 2013 to N$4,8 million in 2017.

The staff expenditure almost tripled from N$13 million in 2013 to N$33 million in 2017.

The accounts show that the party did not pay legal fees in 2013 and 2014, but in 2015, Swapo paid legal fees of around N$325 000, which increased to N$2 million in 2016.

That was the year when the youth leaders sued the party over their expulsion. Swapo lost that case.

The party has paid N$1,2 million to lawyers so far this year. Swapo’s propaganda newspaper, Namibia Today, received N$2 million from 2013 to last year.

The newspaper did not get money this year, the audited statements show.

Geingob’s administration has been credited with transparency although questions remain over where the money from party companies went.

The N$7,4 million recorded in the latest audited statement as dividends to Swapo coffers is considered ‘peanuts’, given the large amounts that come from MultiChoice Namibia, which is 51% owned by Swapo’s Kalahari Holdings.

Sources say MultiChoice Namibia is Kalahari Holdings’ ‘cash cow’. It paid N$150 million in dividends ahead of the congress.

The ruling party is active in a range of critical sectors of the Namibian economy, including property, farming, media, fishing, transport, printing, security, healthcare and mining.

Kalahari Holdings is Swapo’s main business arm and was formed in 1989.

Kalahari Holdings owns six subsidiaries – Namib Contract Haulage (NCH), Namprint, Kudu Investment, Ndilimani Cultural Troupe, Kalasota Mining Enterprises and Klondike Investments, which is dormant.

The health of Swapo businesses is shrouded in secrecy, and are randomly tabled at party events.

The last known Kalahari Holdings annual report was tabled at the 2012 Swapo congress.

According to sources, the latest Kalahari Holdings financial report was not tabled at last weekend’s congress, even though delegates requested a report.

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