Staff Writer
The City of Windhoek has now effectively resolved to convene a special council meeting this coming Friday, the 12th of August 2022, to discuss the motion of no confidence on the management committee.
The motion was brought by Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement councillor at the City of Windhoek, Ilse Keister.
It was read/motivated in council Wednesday evening by the acting Chief Executive Officer. However, as per procedure and rules, its contents were not up for debate until a later date.
Councilor Job Amupanda submitted that as per the guidelines, a council member may introduce a motion of no confidence in the Management Committee.
He said this motivation should not be to the satisfaction, discussion or debate by members of the council until a later date.
“Once this is done, it must be placed on the agenda of the next meeting or council meeting. Once on the agenda for determination, members of the Management Committee must address council because the vote of no confidence is on them,” said the ex-mayor.
However, despite this submission, deputy mayor, Joseph Uapingene, tussled with the council on the process of how a motion should be handled and asked for lawyers to guide the process.
Mayor Sade Gawanas shot down the proposal before determining that the motion will be dealt with this coming Friday.
In the meantime, as per the motion, the council has heard that the current MC has “performed poorly and does not inspire confidence in both council and the residents.”
It proposes that a new MC must now be elected to ensure fairness and that 99 per cent of the MC is dominated by the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), whose members have not led with coherence and objectivity.
It also submits that at the level of council, resolutions are deliberately and not implemented in terms of Section 26 of the Local Authority Act.
“When members of council request for answers from members of MC, there is hardly an answer to these questions. This MC has no respect for council and has dismally failed in implementing its duties.”
“As a result of this failure of the MC, the residents remain despondent and have formed an impressed that council is not able to execute its duties. A new MC must be elected to ensure that council resolutions are implemented as envisaged by Section 26 of the Act and to restore the trust and confidence of the residents,” it reads.
The motion further highlights that the MC’s recent conduct has demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to act objectively and fairly in the exercise of its powers.
“As a case in point, the MC had elected to treat employees differently, and this has led to a demonstration by the employees with regards to favouritism. Council has also received letters of demand by the union, NAPWU, because of this favouritism.”
“To restore this terrible labour situation, council was forced to put all industrial relations matters in ambiance in order to get to the bottom of the matter. This resulted in a terrible state of affairs where these matters were delayed,” it says.
