STATEMENT BY COMRADE DR HAGE G. GEINGOB, PRESIDENT OF THE SWAPO PARTY, ON STEPS TO
ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY ON POLITICAL DONATIONS
12 July 2020 – SWAPO Party Headquarters, Windhoek
Comrade Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Vice President of the SWAPO Party
Comrade Sophia Shaningwa, Secretary General of the SWAPO
Party
Members of the Central Committee and the Politburo the Khomas Region Regional Co- Ordinator, Cde Elliot Mbako
Rank and File of our glorious and victorious movement
Members of the Media
Fellow Citizens,
Good afternoon,
On the ticket of the SWAPO Party, I was re-elected by the people of the Republic of Namibia, the ultimate sovereigns, to represent and champion our collective interests in pursuit of happiness and socio-economic development. Therefore, as President of the Republic of Namibia, I understand that I hold a higher degree of accountability and responsibility than any other citizen.
I address you as President of the SWAPO Party, understanding my moral obligations arising from ethical motives, or a mere conscientious duty, unconnected with any legal obligation, perfect or imperfect, or with the receipt of benefit by the promisor of a material or pecuniary nature.
On assumption of Office as the President of Namibia on 21 March 2015, I, out of that moral obligation, unconnected with any legal obligation, together with my wife, decided to declare our assets.
From the onset, I understood that when administering public affairs, one has to be transparent and accountable. I had no qualms about the public disclosure of my assets for scrutiny. As indicated in my 2020 State of the Nation Address, I will, in due course, make an updated public disclosure of my assets. As you know, that kind of action, is a rarity by a sitting Head of State on the African continent. This action should come as no surprise because I have been a champion of ethics and transparency in Government since my first tenure as Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia.
Shortly after independence, as the first Prime Minister of Namibia, I initiated a program to look into the issue of ethical behaviour in Government. This was done in collaboration with the then Attorney General Advocate Hartmut Ruppel, later replaced by Advocate Vekuii Rukoro and Advocate Bience Gawanas, the then Ombudsman, and several prominent experts in the field of law and ethics. This initiative culminated in a wellattended conference which looked at various aspects such as corruption, theft, embezzlement and other unethical behaviour in Government. This conference was the harbinger for the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission. I was therefore instrumental in both its establishment and later ensuring the constitutional entrenchment of its independence and impartiality. Therefore, entrenchment of transparency and accountability within Government is not an idea or concept that I latched onto recently. On several occasions, I have alluded to the fact that tackling corruption and the perception of corruption can only be successfully achieved through the establishment of robust processes, systems and institutions.
Thus, for political opportunists and opponents to pretend that they are taking the moral high ground and to assert that I and the SWAPO leadership have remained silent in the wake of the “Fishrot scandal” is nothing more than selective morality and political grandstanding. Constructive debates in this respect have regrettably been undermined by the politically motivated rhetoric of those who are driven by personal agendas and outright desire to destroy the SWAPO Party.
The fact remains that despite the desperate attempts by some to taint SWAPO’s reputation, I am on record as having taken concrete action to fight corruption. Noteworthy amongst these are:
▪ Upon receipt of information in which several cabinet Ministers were accused of corrupt activities, I wrote letters to those Ministers, outlining the accusations and requesting explanations. Subsequently, the four Ministers wrote replies and this information is now before the ACC for scrutiny and investigation. Moreover, three of the four Ministers were moved to other portfolios in order to facilitate an unhindered investigation.
▪ I ordered the cancellation of the irregular awarding of the upgrading tender for Hosea Kutako International Airport, which had escalated from N$3 billion to N$7 billion. The airport case went to Court and when the court ruled against Government, I successfully appealed to the Supreme Court and IN THE
PROCESS SAVED THE FISCUS FOUR BILLION NAMIBIA DOLLARS!
▪ I took decisive action in the National Oil Storage project, where costs escalated due to an unfavourable contractual agreement. The Government lost N$500 million owing to currency fluctuation. Administrative action was taken against officials.
▪ I took prompt action against plans for an Angolan oil deal which did not appear to have tangible national benefit, had it Proceeded.
▪ In the wake of the “Fishrot scandal”, two Cabinet Ministers implicated were summoned to State House and the result of that meeting was their immediate resignations to allow unhindered investigations. We must now all allow the statutory and constitutional institutions dealing with the matter to do so in an environment that does not create undue pressure to them, in one way or the other.
▪ Other graft cases i.e. Kora Awards, are either in court or being investigated.
One Western diplomat told me that corruption is everywhere. What is important is how your institutions deal with it. Our institutions are dealing with corruption and my stance and actions as Head of State, and President of the SWAPO Party is clear. This record is clear testimony of my commitment to fight corruption.
Fellow citizens, comrades and friends, you must understand my stance to support the sacred principle of separation of powers. I must be consistent as head of the Executive to allow processes, systems and institutions to do their work without interference. We are a country that adheres to the rule of law and the principles of effective governance. We must make room for due process to take its course. We cannot expect the President or the SWAPO Party to become judge, jury and executioner. The SWAPO Party and its leadership will deal with any allegation pertaining to corruption in a systematic and methodical manner. Lies and innuendo will not be allowed to fester and I call upon party members to be vigilant against those who seek to sow confusion and division.
Our judicial processes must never be subjected to pressure, political or otherwise. People must not be subjected to trial by mainstream or social media. Such a scenario will have farreaching implications to the independence of the judiciary and to citizens’ rights to have an impartial, independent, neutral and fair trial, one that is free of any kind of prejudice. Recently, I have observed unfortunate attempts by some media houses, members of the public, politicians and surprisingly, some lawyers, to put pressure on public institutions that ought to do their work fairly, independently and free of fear, favour or pressure. This has been particularly the case when it comes to the Fishcor investigations. Just like the executive is obliged not to interfere with the work of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, everyone else should stay clear of such processes and allow those who have constitutional duties and prerogatives to be able to deal with the matter in an objective, fair and professional manner.
Through contested elections, the Namibian people returned the SWAPO Party and its President to power in November 2019. To fulfil the aspirations of the Namibian people, the SWAPO Party shall and must remain committed to the promise of delivering services to the Namibian people.
In November 2017, I was elected at Congress as President of the SWAPO Party. I have always been very clear from the beginning that you don’t play the man, play the ball. When the game is over, we shake hands and move on. If we have open elections as we had in 2017, all those who participated are expected to accept the will of the delegates. Some of us have contested elections in the Party; we lost and accepted the outcomes without any sour grapes. There are those who contested the elections as per their right, and commendably, they are now working within the SWAPO collective. That is the SWAPO spirit! It is an insult to hundreds of delegates, who voted with their conscience for candidates of their choice, only to be accused, without any basis, that they were paid to vote for certain candidates. This is not the SWAPO Party way. SWAPO Party cadres discuss issues and concerns through Party structures, and it is a tradition that has served the Party well. The founding President, Comrade Sam Nujoma, the second President, Comrade Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba, and most senior leader continue that sacred tradition. These leaders, when they have concerns or contributions, engage the party, through party communication channels, so that solutions can be found in a constructive manner. After all, the Party is bigger than all of us and we all have an obligation to defend our party, its programmes and policies.
In this respect, I, as the President of SWAPO, for party unity and cohesiveness, remain committed to engaging, particularly senior party cadres, who may have genuine contributions to strengthen the party. This is in addition to the introspection process where all party cadres will be welcome to engage their beloved SWAPO party.
On the issue of political donations, the position of the Party is evolving in line with the December 2019 call for introspection.
There are those who unfairly assume that nothing has been done about corruption and that no progress has been made in introducing a transparent, legal framework for political donations. I want to provide information to the public, SWAPO Party members and sympathizers of steps that have been taken since November 2017 and the way forward.
I wish to announce that the SWAPO Party, in the context and framework of its on-going process of self- introspection, will commence with its own internal review, reform and investigation to establish the full facts of past political donations, to enable us to take corrective measures and action.
While embarking on the above process of review, I wish to shed some light on the existing confusion over, and the lack of clarity, on the issue of donations to political parties, particularly during the period 2014 to 2019. The confusion (or a deliberate tactic to misinform) is evident in the mainstream media.
In terms of section 141(2)(a) and (b) of the Electoral Act 5 of 2014 (“the ECN Act”), a registered political party which has received domestic donations, in an amount more than a prescribed amount, in a financial year from a Namibian person or institution, must disclose to the public within a period, and in the manner prescribed in the ECN Regulations. The prescription of the prescribed amount (the upper limit) in this context is to be done by Regulations made and published by the ECN in the Government Gazette.
Because of the prolonged consultation since the coming into effect of the new Electoral Act and other bureaucratic processes required before coming up with the ECN Regulations on the prescribed maximum total amount for political donations, I understand that the process was unfortunately only completed during 2019. Therefore, until 17 November 2019 the ECN Regulations required under the ECN Act, to fix a maximum donation threshold were non-existent.
Consequently, political parties that may have received donations between 2014 to 17 November 2019 would not have been under statutory obligation to publicly disclose donations as the prescribed donation amount beyond which donations must be publicly disclosed did not exist at the time. Resultantly, both recipients of political donations, and donors, were under no obligation, until 18 November 2019, to make public disclosure of donations beyond the fixed threshold amount.
I must immediately point out that this is the case across the whole political spectrum including donations, foreign or local, made to other political parties and Independent Candidates.
On 18 November 2019, the ECN published Regulations relating to Declaration of Assets and Liabilities of Political Parties and any other person such as Independent Candidates on Disclosure of Foreign and Domestic Financing of Political Parties, in Government Gazette No. 7053. I invite you to consult its contents. The SWAPO Party has studied these provisions and shall comply accordingly and I call on all political parties to follow suit.
It has become law, with effect from 18 November 2019, that total donations that political parties may receive from a Namibian person or a Namibian institution should not exceed N$4 million per financial year, while a total sum of donations received from foreign persons or foreign institutions should not exceed N$2 million for a particular year.
Furthermore in the event of a political party receiving donations beyond the afore-stated amounts, it is mandatory that within a period of 30 days after receipt of such total amount of donations there must be publication of a notice in two Namibian newspapers, specifying:
• The amount of money received; Source from which the money was received;
• Any condition upon which the money was donated; and • The manner in which the money is intended to be used.
Therefore, in view of these recent regulations, and whilst the SWAPO Party is undertaking an internal process of review, reform and investigation, I have directed with immediate effect that:
▪ No SWAPO Party member or sympathiser should seek to solicit donations from any prospective donor, domestic or foreign, without authorisation of the Office of the Secretary- General;
▪ No SWAPO Party member or functionary may, on behalf of the Party, accept donations from any source, domestic or foreign, without obtaining authority from the SWAPO Party’s Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs, in consultation with the
Secretary- General;
▪ Any person or institution, who upon solicitation or on a voluntary basis, intends to make a donation to and for the benefit of the SWAPO Party or its functionaries must do so through the Office of the SWAPO Party’s Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs, in consultation with the Secretary- General;
▪ The Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs of the SWAPO Party must keep and maintain a register of donations received in terms of Regulation 4 referred to above, and must ensure that all declarations and disclosures are made in the event of the donations exceeding N$4 million from Namibian persons or institutions, and N$2 million from foreign persons or institutions. These amounts must be reconsidered, knowing how costly elections are.
Concerning past political donations to the SWAPO Party, either from private or other institutions (including public institutions, if any) the SWAPO Party’s expectation and requirements have always been that those who made donations (monetary or in kind) to the SWAPO Party, must do so in accordance with the law and in the manner that complies with their respective internal procedures. It would be a difficult undertaking to expect the SWAPO Party or any other person to be able to fully satisfy itself that donors’ internal donation requirements and procedures were fulfilled and followed, when donations are made.
The SWAPO Party will be appointing a central authority, preferably its Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs, to accept and register donations made to the Party. This will enable him/her to carry out internal due diligence processes before formal acceptance of a particular political donation and to publicly disclose donations exceeding the prescribed threshold.
The idea is that in future, those who will be vying for internal party positions, such as the Top Four, will have to receive donations through the central authority of the party. This will not only enhance internal party funding, it will also address the challenge of factionalism within the party.
The SWAPO Party is therefore committed to reviewing its internal systems and processes on donations in order to formulate and adopt policies aimed at the identification, certifications and acceptance of donations in accordance with the law.
I therefore ask that all SWAPO members and sympathisers remain united while the necessary review, investigation and reforms are taking place. SWAPO Party members must also be vigilant and alert against those who are trying to tarnish the name of the Party. It is clear that there is an unfortunate, but clear agenda, by a small group whose aim is to destroy the SWAPO Party from within and without. The ongoing campaign of vilification of the SWAPO Party and its leaders and individuals associated with the Party must be viewed in that context.
We all have a collective responsibility to defend our Party and its legacy. We must remember that we have a responsibility to reimagine the future, and restore the relationship with our people. We must show our people that we hear them, we see them and we care about them. We are committed to deliver on our election promise of social justice and shared prosperity. Our collective task as a Ruling Party is to work for a better Namibia and not to engage in endless fights for positions, tribalism and anti- democratic behaviour.
Comrades, as your Leader, I can assure you that SWAPO has not changed. We have not our lost our values, we have not forgotten our people, nor have we abandoned our principles. As a party that has always been the vanguard of the masses and on the right side of history, we will undertake the necessary introspection, reflection and reform in order to retain the political philosophy of the SWAPO Party. This will enable us to remain true to our core values within an evolving political landscape on the domestic and global front.
The SWAPO Party was founded on the values of SOLIDARITY, FREEDOM AND JUSTICE. These enduring values are a clarion call and an appeal to all of us as members to work harder to maintain unity and cohesion within our ranks.
SWAPO UNITED! SWAPO VICTORIOUS! Now, Hard WORK!
I thank you
Comrade Hage G. Geingob President – SWAPO Party Windhoek,
12 July 2020
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