Swapo finances take heavy knock

A report delivered by Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa to the party’s congress over the weekend painted a gloomy picture about the ruling party’s finances, with revenues falling at an alarming rate.The Summarised Financial Information Analysis Report compiled by audit firm BDO, covering the period April 2017 to March 2018, which was presented to congress delegates, also revealed that the party’s revenue has declined by almost N$30 million since 2019.The party’s income, which stood at N$97 million in 2019, has dropped to N$71 million in 2022.Delegates sought answers regarding the decline, with some indicating that the party’s finances are just as threatening to the party’s existence as the political challenges facing the party.Comprehensive report wantedThe party is now looking at devising measures to reverse the revenue decline, with Shaningwa’s famous line "we have all the money" now seemingly contrary to the actual financial situation of the party.Namibian Sun understands some delegates were dissatisfied with the summarised version of the financial report presented to them, and subsequently demanded a comprehensive report, which the party leadership allegedly failed to present."She did not even seem to understand what we were talking about," said one delegate who spoke on the matter.Performance relatedThe report also indicates that the party’s net surplus took a heavy knock, falling from N$17 million in 2018 to a net deficit of N$5.6 million in 2022.The party leadership pinned the revenue decline primarily on decreased political funding and its new headquarters, which is being constructed at a cost of over N$700 million.The party’s dismal performance at the 2019 general elections is now seemingly haunting it, considering the significant decline in government party funding for the seats the party occupies in parliament.The report shows that government funding dropped from N$95 million in 2018 to N$68 million in 2022. Membership fees also fell from N$1.9 million to N$1.7 million during the reporting period. It is not known if the decline in membership fees is due to a loss of members to other parties or if members are simply not paying their membership fees.Income and expensesRevenue from donations increased from N$103 276 to N$590 656 during the reporting period, while dividends from its business empire increased exponentially from N$8 million to N$186.5 million during the same period.According to the report, Swapo draws its revenue mainly from government funding, membership fees, donations, bank loans and undisclosed investments. During the reporting period, the party raked in N$258 million in revenues. About N$185 million of that revenue came from "investment income".During the period under review, the party has spent around N$10.5 million on legal costs, which covers the period when the party was dragged to court by several disgruntled members, including those who contested the outcome of the 2017 elective congress."The gap between revenue in comparison to the total overhead has widened over the past five years thus reflecting the unpredictability of the revenue and overheads in the organisation. The period under review shows that the financial performance being experienced by the organisation was mainly influenced by the decrease in political funding and contributions to the construction of the head office building," the report states.jemima@namibiansun.com

Swapo finances take heavy knock

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-19

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Swapo finances take heavy knock

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Namibian Sun 2025-03-19

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