By: Justicia Ashipena and Kelvin Chiringa
City of Windhoek’s IPC-dominated Management Committee (MC) has now been dissolved following the failure of an urgent court application to set aside a vote of no confidence.
The decision was taken Monday evening.
Landless People’s Movement’s (LPM) Ivan Skrywer said the council is now about to sit this Tuesday to birth a new MC, following numerous accusations that the outgoing MC was not working in the best interest of the City.
“The Act makes it very clear that at this meeting where a vote of no confidence is discussed, that meeting must call a special council meeting where a new MC is elected. This has just been done, there is a special council meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) where a new MC will be elected. Until the voting is done, I will not be able to tell who will be able to dominate the MC, but it will not be a long wait for us to find out,” he said.
The Windhoek High Court had, earlier in the day, given the green light for the continuation of a meeting for the City of Windhoek council to deliberate a vote of no confidence in the management committee.
Four Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) committee members approached the court on an urgent basis on Monday, seeking the cancellation of the meeting.
The motion was brought by the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement councillor at the City of Windhoek, Ilse Keister, in July this year.
Keister had stated that the current management committee has performed poorly and does not inspire confidence in both council and the residents.
Ndeshihafela Larandja leads the committee with three other IPC councillors – Jürgen Hecht, Bernardus Araeb, and Ottilie Saarty Uukule, with LPM’s Ivan Skrywer. Last week Larandja opposed the motion of no confidence. High Court judge Boas Usiku dismissed the urgent application.
Gerson Narib represented the councillors on instructions of Sylvia Kahengome, and Eva Shifotoka presented the City.
Shifotoka argued that the council did not consider the vote yet, but the vote of no confidence was only read out to the council, and all members of the MC were accorded an opportunity to state their stance on the vote with one to present to the council.
The City of Windhoek further argued that the defence team’s reputational damages submitted in court would only occur if the MC is resolved.
Narib maintained that no ample time was given to their clients to study the vote before it was debated.
On 12 August, the council, at a special meeting, provided the MC to debate on why it should not put the vote of no confidence on its agenda.
This meeting was then postponed to 23 August after a member of the MC asked for more time.
The four members had also sent out a letter to the council to call off the special meeting because “it is unconstitutional and unlawful.”
In her motion tabled to the council, Keister had said her vote of no confidence was motivated by the management committee that deliberately ignores resolutions, and when councillors request answers, there is hardly any answer.
According to Keister, 99 per cent of the current management committee is dominated by members from the same political party, and the members have not shown the ability to lead coherently and objectively.
Keister pointed out that 99 per cent of the management committee members are under restrictions on how they will preside over specific matters.
Keister also said that the recent conduct of the management committee has shown that it cannot be trusted to act objectively and fairly in exercising its powers.
Keister, in the motion, said a new management committee must be elected to ensure that council resolutions are implemented as envisaged by section 26 of the act and restore the residents’ trust and confidence.
