Windhoek
First Lady Monica Geingos has pledged to bequeath 50 percent of her estate to the ONE Economy Foundation to assist in the education of vulnerable children and in creating opportunities.
ONE Economy Foundation, whose slogan is ‘one Namibia, one economy’, aims to build a bridge of opportunity between the formal, urban economy and informal, rural economy.
The foundation has already selected 25 learners from low-income households for the Talented Individual Programme (TIP) scholarship that would see them attend Windhoek High School or Windhoek Gymnasium Private School.
Geingos, who last year publicly declared her net worth as between N$45 million and N$60 million, dropped the bombshell when announcing the 25 beneficiaries this week.
“As a matter of fact, I have discussed this with my children – 50 percent of my estate when I pass will go into the ONE Economy Foundation,” she said off the cuff.
And she says if she is able to set up her children well for the future then she would bequeath her entire estate to the foundation. “If I can de-risk my children’s future a little more then it is 100 percent,” the first lady remarked. Her youngest child is 16 years old.
“Those who want your children to inherit from you, great.
“I am not judging that. One of the reasons we have high income inequality is exactly because of inheritance.”
“It is exactly because rich people leave what they have earned to their children who remain rich. What do poor people get? – you get debts, bad attitude and all things that are not constructive to their future. So, personally, I won’t want to raise children who don’t believe they have a need to work hard because they think they are going to inherit from me,” said Geingos.
Geingos further said there is no way children would want to inherit from their parents after being provided with an education and strong work ethic.
The foundation will spend on average N$130 000 on each of the 25 children selected this year. Geingos is the founder of ONE Economy Foundation, which aspires to bridge Namibians in the second economy into the first economy.