Geingob’s N$36m retirement mansion nearly complete

The state-funded retirement mansion of late president Hage Geingob in Swakopmund is nearing completion, with the government confirming that N$32 million has already been spent on the project.Executive director in the Office of the President Mateus Kaholongo told Namibian Sun last week that the project – for which a N$36 million budget was allocated – is now 99% complete.Geingob, who died on 4 February 2024 after a battle with cancer, had personally requested in 2023 that his retirement home be built in the coastal town.“The decision was made in April 2023 when the late president indicated to the accounting officer that he opted for his house to be constructed in Swakopmund,” Kaholongo said.The Former Presidents’ Pension and Other Benefits Act of 2012 gives outgoing heads of state the option to choose between a furnished official residence in Windhoek, a cash payout or a private residence built or acquired on their behalf anywhere in Namibia.According to the Act, retired presidents must be provided with “a furnished official residence at any place in Windhoek or at the request of the former president such housing allowance as may be determined by the Cabinet in lieu thereof, including an allowance for telephone expenses and water and electricity charges in respect of a residence other than an official residence”.Other entitlements include a pension, benefits for the spouse and dependents, insolvency protection and income tax exemption. The law further states that a former president shall be paid a monthly pension equal to or greater than the monthly basic salary that he received immediately before leaving office, or 80% of his successor’s salary. It remains unclear, however, whether salary-linked benefits are still applicable in cases where the intended beneficiary passes away before taking up residence.Kaholongo said: “An architect was appointed in July 2023, the tender process began in January 2024, and the site handover followed in April 2024. The practical completion date was set for 23 April 2025. The house is currently about 99% completed.”Grand retirement home Geingob’s house, located in Swakopmund’s affluent Vineta suburb, sits on a 1 677-square-metre plot. It features five bedrooms, a three-bedroom guest wing, a study, a swimming pool, two guardrooms, and a four-vehicle garage, in line with statutory provisions.The home will also include accommodation for staff, including three domestic workers, two gardeners, two cooks, two waiters and two laundry staff.So far, government has spent N$32.1 million with the project budgeted at N$36 million in total.Deceased estateGeingob died just 11 months before the end of his second and final term, which was slated to conclude on 21 March 2025.Legal expert Norman Tjombe said the Act allows for Geingob’s heirs to inherit the residence, since he died before occupying it.“The property will be his or hers [spouse]. Just like if he or she takes the cash payout. When he or she is no more, the property will be dealt with just like any other property over which he or she has ownership: it will be inherited by his or her heirs,” Tjombe explained. Geingob served as Namibia’s first prime minister from 1990 to 2002 and again from 2012 to 2015. As chair of the Constituent Assembly, he played a pivotal role in drafting Namibia’s constitution.His widow, former first lady Monica Geingos, has not indicated whether she will occupy the Swakopmund property. However, she emphasised that the home is part of a deceased estate.“I believe the Presidency is the appropriate channel to respond to what pertains to the provision of the Former Presidents’ Pension and Other Benefits Act. As the issue of benefits by virtue of the said Act is distinct from the plans for a Presidential Centre,” she noted. “I would like to respectfully delink Hage’s assets, which have now devolved to the mechanics of a deceased estate, from the Presidential Centre, which is a distinct issue,” Geingos added.Honouring a legacy Earlier this year, Geingos announced the launch of a Presidential Centre to honour Geingob’s legacy. The centre’s board will be chaired by former National Assembly speaker Peter Katjavivi, with Geingos as deputy. Other board members include former Cabinet secretary George Simataa, former presidential adviser and current agriculture minister Inge Zaamwani, Geingob’s eldest daughter Nangula, Carlos Lopez, and Alfredo Hengari.According to his December 2014 will, signed two months before his marriage to Geingos, the late president bequeathed his Windhoek residence, called Casa Rosalia, and his stake in Hada Loha (the company that owns his Grootfontein-area farm), as well as his livestock and equipment, to the Dr Hage G. Geingob Family Trust.Geingob is the third president to receive a state-funded retirement home. Former presidents Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba also benefited from similar packages. Reports suggest that more than N$100 million was spent on their properties, with Nujoma’s home reportedly costing over N$70 million after costly renovations and N$35 million allocated for Pohamba’s residence in Windhoek’s Auasblick suburb.

Geingob’s N$36m retirement mansion nearly complete

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-31

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Geingob’s N$36m retirement mansion nearly complete

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-31

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