Swapo president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has defended the ruling party’s decision to construct a multimillion-dollar head office near the ageing Katutura Intermediate Hospital in Windhoek, saying party funds cannot be redirected to government projects.
Speaking at the inaguration of the Swapo headquarters on Sunday, Nandi-Ndaitwah dismissed criticism that the party should have channelled resources towards renovating the hospital, which has long been described as dilapidated.
“When we started to build, some people were saying to us, why are we putting this money into the building instead of renovating the state hospital?” she said.
She explained that the funds used for the construction of the party’s headquarters were contributed by Swapo members specifically for that purpose, and could not simply be transferred to the state.
“How do you account when you have your members contributing towards the construction of the headquarters, and then you donate that money? These same members are also working for the government and, as taxpayers, they know their taxes can be used for such purposes,” she said.
Nandi-Ndaitwah added that postponing the construction project indefinitely was not a viable option, despite initial resistance from some within the party.
“We cannot indefinitely postpone the construction of our headquarters. Even some of our members were against it, but I think we have all reconciled and now we are ready to see this building,” she said.
She further revealed that the cost of the building has exceeded initial projections, which she said was between N$600 million and N$700 million.
She said the final figure has risen to more than N$900 million.
According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, the new headquarters consist of eight floors and 150 offices.
She said the building also includes a congress hall with a seating capacity for 1 500 people, a media room and an amphitheatre.
The amphitheatre, she said, has been named after founding president Sam Nujoma and will be known as Sam Nujoma Square.
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