ACT-Wazalendo party leader Zitto Kabwe told The Chanzo on Sunday that the opposition party has so far spent a total of Sh357 million for its new headquarters inaugurated yesterday, adding that it is expecting to spend Sh143 million more for finishing.

Named after the party’s former national chairperson Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad, who died on February 17, 2022, the new ACT-Wazalendo’s headquarters is located in Magomeni, Dar es Salaam and it contains, among other facilities, two conference halls that can accommodate hundreds of delegates.

There has been much speculation over the actual source of the money that ACT-Wazalendo, established in 2014, obtained to construct the new headquarters.

Responding to the speculation on Sunday, Mr Kabwe told The Chanzo that the main source of the money has been donations from its members and supporters.

“I mean, members both local and in the diaspora,” he told The Chanzo. “You know we have a big diaspora of Zanzibaris who are ACT-Wazalendo’s sympathisers.”

“Donations from wellwishers in the country and outside the country,” Mr Kabwe added. “Our aggressive work on party building is paying off. So we collected a lot of donations from wellwishers through our leaders in [Tanzania] Mainland and Zanzibar.”

Mr Kabwe credited the party’s members for the milestone, saying they have been sacrificing everything they have for the party since its inception.

“Our government subventions are so low that we can’t run the party,” Mr Kabwe explained. “Between 2020 and now we have organised three national conventions, each one costing more than Sh400 million, all of them sourced from our members and wellwishers.”

“Why should we prove to people now?” Mr Kabwe wondered. “Those who want proof can wait for the [Controllar and Auditor General] CAG report for the year ending June 2022.”

He said that in 2023, ACT-Wazalendo is expecting to build the same kind of office in Zanzibar plus five regional offices in regions of Tanzania Mainland and two regional offices in Zanzibar.