In theory and according to the law, all Political Parties in Namibia must be open about where they get their funding.
In Practice... their has been a lot of fishy business!
In Theory... Political parties that have seats in the National Assembly receive funds from the government proportionally to the number of seats they hold. Additionally political parties are able to receive funding through membership dues, foreign support and other sources like fundraisers, interest income and donations. All International funds have to be officially declared and audited.
Have you heard of the FISHROT Scandal?
On the morning of November 13, 2019, Namibians woke up to news of their country’s biggest corruption scandal since independence in 1990.
Members of the Namibian cabinet and local businessmen were accused of receiving millions of dollars in bribes from a prominent Icelandic fishing company in exchange for fishing quotas. The documents and emails were published on Wikileaks. There was international coverage and Al Jazeera even screened a documentary on it called 'Anatomy of a Bribe'. In Namibia, citizens became increasingly enraged by the continuous flow of shocking details.
According to the OCCRP;
Top Namibian officials allegedly used a secret company to siphon millions of dollars from this state-backed fishing deal.
Court documents obtained by reporters describe how the officials then funnelled the cash to multiple companies controlled by people connected to the ruling SWAPO party.
Part of that money, according to statements, emails, and scribbled notes, was then used to pay off electors for President Hage Geingob at a critical party congress.
Voices of Namibia's Rosa Namises called for transparency about where Political Parties get their funding in a recent interview with Namibia's leading paper, The Namibian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uliBlAE34SQ
Rosa Namises was a prominent Political Activist who fought for Namibia's Independence alongside SWAPO from the 70's right the way through to 1990. Soon after SWAPO assumed power, she quit the party after they banished their own citizens to dungeons!
After sitting in Parliament with opposition parties, for over 8 years, Rosa turned her hand to grass roots Human Right's activism. Through her organisation Womens Solidarity Namibia she single handedly raised the profile of the right's of Women and did more to quell gender based violence than anyone in the country's history. She continues to support communities to attain food and water resiliency and protect vulnerable children and speak up for the underprivileged.
"We need change and we need it now!' says Rosa. It was a difficult decision to run for president and not one she undertook lightly, but in March 2024 she announced that she would run as a candidate in the 2024 presidential elections.
Rosa started her campaign with little to no funds. In spite of this she had tremendous support from a passionate team of volunteers who worked tirelessly battling against issues such as lack of transport and not being able to buy credit for their phones.
The SOHA Foundation, a Swiss based Private Foundation who have supported Rosa's Human Rights work for many years, stepped in to help support the volunteers. And now that they have just about collected the signatures required to register to stand in the elections, The SOHA Foundation has stepped in again by employing a Freelance Fundraiser based in Germany.
The SOHA Foundation's mission is..... 'We will support and empower people and regions of the world who have less access to resources to enable them to find local answers and to actively take part in tackling global challenges. Through fostering a global network we invite the inclusion and balance of the wisdom of all cultures by providing transformational learning opportunities.'
Through The SOHA Foundations connections, Rosa Namises was able to access the support of a Uruguayan marketing agency which supports 'systems change' Political candidates to maximise their election potential. They are training the volunteer team and a local marketing agency to generate daily hard hitting social media content.
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