Reho councillor, manager in crash

Rehoboth residents are again up in arms after controversially appointed acting CEO of the town council, Willie Swartz, and chairperson of the management committee, Winston /Uirab, were in a car accident outside Mariental on Monday.The outraged residents called to say that Swartz is not supposed to use a council vehicle because he gets a car allowance.A source preferring anonymity also alleged that the car used on the trip was not signed out. “The car was simply taken. It was not signed out. It is complete chaos, recklessness and indiscipline,” the source said./Uirab this week said he was driving the car and not Swartz. He added that the car was allotted to him by the municipality's fleet officer. “I did not steal the car; I drove the car out of the council premises after a short meeting in the morning. The car was provided to me. I can give 100% assurance that council vehicles or properties are not used and abused by councillors or managers,” /Uirab said.According to /Uirab they were on their way to an official engagement with the Keetmanshoop municipality to find out more about that council's short-term arrangement with Erongo Red and how it managed to minimise its debt with NamPower.Rehoboth mayor Christine Blaauw-Petrus and deputy mayor Eva Maasdorp were also travelling to Keetmanshoop for the same purpose in a separate vehicle. Residents also claim that the council is simply ignoring a directive by Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Sophia Shaningwa, that Swartz should not represent the council at any platform. /Uirab also said he has heard of Shangingwa's directive pertaining to Swartz, but said that it states that the council should meet and “peruse” the directive and then only take a resolution on the matter. Blaauw-Petrus was not available for comment. Maasdorp said she is not the designated person to comment on “this sensitive issue” and referred all queries to Blaauw-Petrus.Spokesperson of the town council, Jeffrey Kasupi, claimed that he did not know anything about the accident and later also said that he was not able to find out any information regarding the incident and the circumstances surrounding it.Swartz did not answer his phone and later switched it off. Swartz's appointment to the acting CEO position is regarded as controversial because he has – in mid-2015 – tendered his resignation at the council and for all intents and purposes reappointed himself in his former position as manager of human resources and corporate affairs five months later, with the Swapo councillors' approval. The council then also paid Swartz N$150 000 for the five months he has not been employed at the council. After his return to the office Swartz was suspended by suspended council CEO Chris /Uirab for allegedly having deposited N$13 million of the municipality's money into his personal bank account. The following day after his suspension, the council reinstated Swartz. Catherine Sasman

Reho councillor, manager in crash

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-06

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Reho councillor, manager in crash

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-06

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