by:Justicia Shipena
The deputy minister of urban and rural development, Natalia /Goagoses has given the acting chief executive officer of the City of Windhoek George Mayumbelo directives to serve the City Council with a 72-hour agenda notice ahead of an election for the office bearers.
On Thursday the City council is set to elect office bearers for mayor, deputy mayor, and management committee members at its chambers after a failed attempt last December.
The upcoming meeting was confirmed by the Independent Patriots councillor Ndeshihafela Larandja to The Villager.
In December, the elections could not take place after both Swapo and IPC councillors opted to not participate in the elections which resulted in the council postponing the meeting until further notice due to a lack of a quorum.
“I was involved and asked the acting CEO that they must be given 72-hour agenda notice,” /Goagoses confirmed.
This notice, she said, is to ensure that the councillors do not walk out of the election meeting again. She believes the elections set for Thursday will be a success, adding that there should be no situation where the biggest municipality in the country has no leader for 30 or more days.
“They are going to be served with the 72-hour agenda as prescribed by the law. They have enough time to think about who should be the chairperson of that institution,” she said.
/Goagoses stressed that this year should be a year of service, stating that people are not interested in quarrels and political egos.
She said 2023 should be a year of reviving and reigniting spirits where there is hope for the residents.
“In 2023, I urged them that they must be guided by article 45 of the constitution. This year they must work, we have wasted enough time,” she said, adding “leaders they must be guided by their conscience”.
“We are not going to tolerate quarrels and unnecessary squabbles and fights any longer. Namibians are waiting for the basic services to be delivered to them. Therefore, I encourage them to read the agenda, put their heads together and elect their office bearers so that they can immediately thereafter start servicing the residents of Windhoek.”
After Council adjourned the meeting last month, CoW mayor Sade Gawanas told The Villager that they have been clear since the vote of no confidence against the management committee.
In July last year, Affirmative Repositioning (AR) councillor Ilse Keister moved a vote of no confidence in the management committee that ousted the previous committee with her being elected chairperson of the new committee.
She then stated that she will be acting as mayor until Council elections take place.
However, Larandja this week stated that there is no such provision in the Local Authority Act for office bearers to act.
“The law does not make a provision for acting. You are either there or not,” she said.
Asked whether IPC would walk out this time, she said, “why should I predetermine before the election day?”
Meanwhile former councillor Ignatius Semba of the Popular Democratic Movement said the time has run out for the Council to elect new office bearers and that the idea of people in acting positions does not work very well because it does not give full power to the leadership to take some serious decisions.
“Windhoek is the capital city and it has to set the tone to the rest of the local authorities in the country. Somebody needs to direct, even the minister needs to intervene and assist the councillors and political parties that have councillors in this local authority need to play their part ,” he indicated.
City of Windhoek councillors to be served with “No walk out” orders
