Government will donate two houses worth N$558 225 to a State-owned newspaper, compliments of the taxpayer.

According to a Cabinet directive, the 'assignment' of the two Windhoek houses was done with the understanding and commitment that they will be alienated to the New Era newspaper when it achieves full parastatal status.

The house in Bruhn Street is valuated at N$277 225, while the house in Krupp Street is valued at N$281 000.

During the early 1990s, the Ministry of Works and Transport assigned two houses to the New Era Publications Corporation via the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, particularly for expatriates working at the newspaper.

Treasury gave its authorisation for the two houses, with a total value of N$558 225, to be given to New Era free of charge, after the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology gave approval for the alienation.

"In light of the above, Cabinet on September 2 granted approval to donate the two above-mentioned properties to the New Era Publication Corporation," the latest Cabinet briefing paper stated on Thursday.

New Era, which has a circulation of about 7 500 copies per edition, receives some N$5 million of the taxpayer's money as State subsidy from Government annually and it does not make a profit.

Government sinks another N$3 million a year into another loss-making New Era Corporation project, a weekly newspaper called Southern Times, which is run in partnership with the Zimbabwean government.

It remains to be seen if Southern Times will survive during the new government of national unity between the ruling Zanu-PF and the oppositional Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which will be announced today in Harare.