Swapo zooms in on Etosha controversy

CLAIMS by the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) that Etosha National Park has been sold to Americans as part of the US government’s donor funding through the Millennium Challenge Account will top the agenda of the party’s Politburo meeting with leaders of the youth wing next week.

The Millennium Challenge Account is injecting US$305 million in donor funding into Namibia. However, the Youth League is very critical of some aspects of the agreement; they claim that the Americans have attached strings to the multi-million dollar “grant”.The Namibian has it on good authority that the Politburo will meet the Youth League leadership to discuss recent statements over the ownership of Etosha, TransNamib and the youth wing’s calls on President Hifikepunye Pohamba to dismiss some Cabinet ministers.At the heart of the Etosha issue is the SPYL’s claim that the US government, through private investors from that country, intend to take over park as part of the US$305 million it gave to Namibia through the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).The SPYL is demanding that Works Minister Helmut Angula (formerly the Director of the National Planning Commission), who pencilled the agreement, be dismissed because he allegedly withheld certain information from Cabinet before the document was signed.Initially the SPYL also had its sights set on former Environment Minister Willem Konjore because of the link to Etosha.DOUBTS The Namibian has seen a document which states that the Ministry of Environment will award two lodges or exclusive access concessions for Etosha National Park and an additional two lodges within other national parks in northern Namibia, with a minimum term of 10 years and allocated through competitive bidding, to private sector and conservancy joint ventures.SPYL leaders said that that alone had cast doubt over the money given by the US government.”Is it a loan or a grant? What type of conditions are attached to it and is everyone in Cabinet aware of such conditions,” asked one SPYL member.Another condition to the signing of the agreement was that the Office of the Attorney General should give a legal opinion on the document.However, the Americans have said that such an opinion must be “acceptable to MCC in form and substance”, a provision which has raised eyebrows.The Americans allegedly want to control procurement policies, preside over the contracting of parks management (through conservancies), do consultancy work for conservancies and infrastructure work.’NO TRADE-OFF’ However, Ray Castillo, Public Affairs Officer for the American Embassy in Windhoek, denied that there is any agreement in the MCA Namibia Compact that gives US private companies exclusive rights to lodges in either Etosha or another park, and said no concession agreement has been signed.”There has been no trade-off,” he said.He said the MCA Namibia Compact was a humanitarian assistance agreement to reduce poverty in the country by carrying out projects proposed by the Namibian Government.The Namibian has also been told that the party’s top four leaders plan to meet Works Minister Angula this week to discuss his recent confrontations with the SPYL.It comes in the midst of reports that some senior Government officials were on a mission to find out how the youth league got hold of key documents on the Millennium Challenge Account, which like all other documents have not been posted on the MCA website.”The idea is to hear his [Angula’s] side of the story.He must give answers on the process and so forth,” sources said.Some sources claimed that the Cabinet never discussed the MCA matter in detail.Although that sounded strange, the top four of the party – Pohamba, party Vice President Hage Geingob, Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and her deputy Nangolo Mbumba – want to be proactive in resolving the issue.Both meetings “will help save the President’s face”, sources said.In Swapo circles, there is a belief that Pohamba should have taken up the issues the minute they were raised by the SPYL.”It was clear, from the word go, that the young men were not just making noise and that they had some crucial information which was lacking in [the] public domain.We think that the President should have called them in immediately and taken up the issue with them,” said one source.LEGAL OPTIONS Defending the provisions of the agreement, which until now have not been made public, the US Embassy’s Castillo said they normally require a legal opinion to ensure that the MCA Namibia Compact was an enforceable agreement.”Basically, we’re asking the senior legal voice within the government to confirm that the agreements and documents will operate as we intend them to do (as written),” he said when asked about the legal opinion required from the Attorney General.He said the concessions mentioned in the document will be joint ventures between registered communal conservancies that exist adjacent to Etosha National Park and private companies.”This joint venture approach will ensure that rural Namibians living adjacent to Etosha will also benefit directly from the tourism sector,” he said.The concessions, he said, will be offered through “well-publicised public tenders”.”These tenders have not yet been offered.They will be advertised widely once they are offered,” he said.Some of the issues covered by the MCC agreement include: * No laws in Namibia (other than the constitution of Namibia), whether now or hereafter in effect, will take precedence or prevail over the terms of this Compact or the PIA; * MCA Namibia is responsible for implementing the projects, and therefore for selecting the contractors and suppliers as well as awarding the contracts; * MCC permits firms and individuals from almost all countries to offer goods, works and non-consultant services for MCC-funded projects; * MCA Namibia shall select auditors according to the instructions provided to it by MCC; and * Namibia Wildlife Resorts shall pay concession fees reflecting market rate for concession fees charged to the private sector, for existing and new tourism sites in Etosha National Park.However, the Youth League is very critical of some aspects of the agreement; they claim that the Americans have attached strings to the multi-million dollar “grant”. The Namibian has it on good authority that the Politburo will meet the Youth League leadership to discuss recent statements over the ownership of Etosha, TransNamib and the youth wing’s calls on President Hifikepunye Pohamba to dismiss some Cabinet ministers.At the heart of the Etosha issue is the SPYL’s claim that the US government, through private investors from that country, intend to take over park as part of the US$305 million it gave to Namibia through the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).The SPYL is demanding that Works Minister Helmut Angula (formerly the Director of the National Planning Commission), who pencilled the agreement, be dismissed because he allegedly withheld certain information from Cabinet before the document was signed.Initially the SPYL also had its sights set on former Environment Minister Willem Konjore because of the link to Etosha.DOUBTS The Namibian has seen a document which states that the Ministry of Environment will award two lodges or exclusive access concessions for Etosha National Park and an additional two lodges within other national parks in northern Namibia, with a minimum term of 10 years and allocated through competitive bidding, to private sector and conservancy joint ventures.SPYL leaders said that that alone had cast doubt over the money given by the US government.”Is it a loan or a grant? What type of conditions are attached to it and is everyone in Cabinet aware of such conditions,” asked one SPYL member. Another condition to the signing of the agreement was that the Office of the Attorney General should give a legal opinion on the document.However, the Americans have said that such an opinion must be “acceptable to MCC in form and substance”, a provision which has raised eyebrows.The Americans allegedly want to control procurement policies, preside over the contracting of parks management (through conservancies), do consultancy work for conservancies and infrastructure work.’NO TRADE-OFF’ However, Ray Castillo, Public Affairs Officer for the American Embassy in Windhoek, denied that there is any agreement in the MCA Namibia Compact that gives US private companies exclusive rights to lodges in either Etosha or another park, and said no concession agreement has been signed.”There has been no trade-off,” he said.He said the MCA Namibia Compact was a humanitarian assistance agreement to reduce poverty in the country by carrying out projects proposed by the Namibian Government.The Namibian has also been told that the party’s top four leaders plan to meet Works Minister Angula this week to discuss his recent confrontations with the SPYL.It comes in the midst of reports that some senior Government officials were on a mission to find out how the youth league got hold of key documents on the Millennium Challenge Account, which like all other documents have not been posted on the MCA website.”The idea is to hear his [Angula’s] side of the story.He must give answers on the process and so forth,” sources said.Some sources claimed that the Cabinet never discussed the MCA matter in detail.Although that sounded strange, the top four of the party – Pohamba, party Vice President Hage Geingob, Secretary General Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana and her deputy Nangolo Mbumba – want to be proactive in resolving the issue.Both meetings “will help save the President’s face”, sources said.In Swapo circles, there is a belief that Pohamba should have taken up the issues the minute they were raised by the SPYL.”It was clear, from the word go, that the young men were not just making noise and that they had some crucial information which was lacking in [the] public domain.We think that the President should have called them in immediately and taken up the issue with them,” said one source.LEGAL OPTIONS Defending the provisions of the agreement, which until now have not been made public, the US Embassy’s Castillo said they normally require a legal opinion to ensure that the MCA Namibia Compact was an enforceable agreement.”Basically, we’re asking the senior legal voice within the government to confirm that the agreements and documents will operate as we intend them to do (as written),” he said when asked about the legal opinion required from the Attorney General.He said the concessions mentioned in the document will be joint ventures between registered communal conservancies that exist adjacent to Etosha National Park and private companies.”This joint venture approach will ensure that rural Namibians living adjacent to Etosha will also benefit directly from the tourism sector,” he said.The concessions, he said, will be offered through “well-publicised public tenders”.”These tenders have not yet been offered.They will be advertised widely once they are offered,” he said.Some of the issues covered by the MCC agreement include: * No laws in Namibia (other than the constitution of Namibia), whether now or hereafter in effect, will take precedence or prevail over the terms of this Compact or the PIA; * MCA Namibia is responsible for implementing the projects, and therefore for selecting the contractors and suppliers as well as awarding the contracts; * MCC permits firms and individuals from almost all countries to offer goods, works and non-consultant services for MCC-funded projects; * MCA Namibia shall select auditors according to the instructions provided to it by MCC; and * Namibia Wildlife Resorts shall pay concession fees reflecting market rate for concession fees charged to the private sector, for existing and new tourism sites in Etosha National Park.