First Lady pledges her estate
First Lady Monica Geingos says at least half of her large estate will go towards the empowerment foundation that she founded.
First Lady Monica Geingos plans to pledge half of her estate to the One Economy Foundation when she dies, and all of her estate if her children can sustain themselves after finishing university.
She made the comment at a handover ceremony in Windhoek on Friday where the Chinese business community pledged to give N$600 000 to the One Economy Foundation.
Speaking off the cuff, she said: “Fifty percent of my estate must go to the One Economy Foundation when I die. When my children finish university and can sustain themselves, 100% of my estate can go to the foundation. When I say I want the foundation to live beyond me I mean it.”
Geingos said neither she nor the two other directors, Dawid Fourie and Kauna Ndilula, received a salary from the foundation.
“Myself, Dawid Fourie and Kauna Ndilula have waived our rights to board fees. I will never benefit from what comes into the foundation, nor will the directors. I will never take a salary from the foundation. I am happy to open One Economy's books to anyone,” she said.
She also spoke about the foundation's efficiency in distributing donor money. “Ninety-eight percent of what One Economy gets goes straight to the beneficiaries. I will work hard to ensure that it does not go below 95%.”
According to Geingos, One Economy's governance structure rates as one of the best in the country.
“We have a very strict governance framework developed by Schalk Walters. We have one of the top governance structures in the country.”
The foundation planned to give collateral-free loans to small and medium enterprises run by women, said Geingos.
“We are going to start giving collateral-free loans to women SMEs. There will also be a payment holiday. There will be 0% charges. No secret fees or charges on the loan.
“We also want to give young people access to finance. We will charge 5% and if you are successful, you will get back 2% of the interest charged. We will only help people if we are sure it can get you out of poverty.”
She warned, though, that the foundation was not a form of cheap financing and said that individuals would need to prove that they could not get access to funding elsewhere. “We will ask for a letter of rejection. We are not a form of cheap finance.”
She conceded that a lot of work lay ahead in terms of ensuring the foundation was sustainable, but remained positive that its work would continue after her death.
“Give us a chance. We are still not where we want to be in terms of funding. This will outlive me. The One Economy Foundation has to live beyond me.”
Geingos had previously revealed that her wealth was between N$45 million and N$60 million. Her extended business web ranges from uranium exploration to retail, property, fishing, manufacturing and the media industry. She owns a house valued at N$7.5 million in Klein Windhoek. Her liabilities, of which a huge chunk is a home loan with First National Bank, total about N$3.9 million.
OGONE TLHAGE
She made the comment at a handover ceremony in Windhoek on Friday where the Chinese business community pledged to give N$600 000 to the One Economy Foundation.
Speaking off the cuff, she said: “Fifty percent of my estate must go to the One Economy Foundation when I die. When my children finish university and can sustain themselves, 100% of my estate can go to the foundation. When I say I want the foundation to live beyond me I mean it.”
Geingos said neither she nor the two other directors, Dawid Fourie and Kauna Ndilula, received a salary from the foundation.
“Myself, Dawid Fourie and Kauna Ndilula have waived our rights to board fees. I will never benefit from what comes into the foundation, nor will the directors. I will never take a salary from the foundation. I am happy to open One Economy's books to anyone,” she said.
She also spoke about the foundation's efficiency in distributing donor money. “Ninety-eight percent of what One Economy gets goes straight to the beneficiaries. I will work hard to ensure that it does not go below 95%.”
According to Geingos, One Economy's governance structure rates as one of the best in the country.
“We have a very strict governance framework developed by Schalk Walters. We have one of the top governance structures in the country.”
The foundation planned to give collateral-free loans to small and medium enterprises run by women, said Geingos.
“We are going to start giving collateral-free loans to women SMEs. There will also be a payment holiday. There will be 0% charges. No secret fees or charges on the loan.
“We also want to give young people access to finance. We will charge 5% and if you are successful, you will get back 2% of the interest charged. We will only help people if we are sure it can get you out of poverty.”
She warned, though, that the foundation was not a form of cheap financing and said that individuals would need to prove that they could not get access to funding elsewhere. “We will ask for a letter of rejection. We are not a form of cheap finance.”
She conceded that a lot of work lay ahead in terms of ensuring the foundation was sustainable, but remained positive that its work would continue after her death.
“Give us a chance. We are still not where we want to be in terms of funding. This will outlive me. The One Economy Foundation has to live beyond me.”
Geingos had previously revealed that her wealth was between N$45 million and N$60 million. Her extended business web ranges from uranium exploration to retail, property, fishing, manufacturing and the media industry. She owns a house valued at N$7.5 million in Klein Windhoek. Her liabilities, of which a huge chunk is a home loan with First National Bank, total about N$3.9 million.
OGONE TLHAGE
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