Bid to split City management committee seats among all parties
The Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) wants the five City of Windhoek management committee seats to be shared equally between all five political parties represented on the council, with three of those seats already occupied by Swapo councillors.
During the council elections held last week, presiding officer Jozaan Klazen accepted Swapo’s Queen Kamati, Sam Shafishuna Nujoma and Austin Kwenani as duly elected management committee members, while directing that the additional two members be elected at the next council sitting.
This unprecedented development has, however, caused great furore amongst councillors, with the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), Affirmative Repositioning (AR) and Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) distancing themselves from the ‘system’.
Throughout the proceedings on Thursday evening, the IPC councillors kept their distance; however, in a leaked letter to all parties represented on the council - dated 23 January - IPC national general secretary Christine /Aochomus called for interventions to address the current deadlock.
“Consensus politics is vital for the prosperity and progress of the City of Windhoek. It is my conviction that by working together towards shared goals, rather than engaging in divisive battles, we can achieve far more for the residents of Windhoek,” she said.
“We, as a party, advocate for the implementation of proportional representation in the decision-making body of the City of Windhoek. This proposal would ensure that each party that has been empowered by the electorate is represented in the management committee.”
United front
Days before last week’s elections, National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) secretary-general Joseph Kauandenge called an urgent meeting for opposition parties to push for a united front against Swapo.
This initiative failed, however, as insiders claim it ended in a deadlock with no agreement amongst opposition leaders, who allegedly could not reach consensus on who should take up the positions.
Meanwhile, /Aochamus said parties agreeing to a consensus would avert a costly rerun of the now-concluded elections when the country is facing an economic crisis.
When contacted, she declined to comment on the letter, saying it was not supposed to reach the media and that they are currently still waiting for interventions from political parties.
Last year, the IPC-dominated management committee was dissolved following the failure of an urgent court application to set aside a vote of no confidence, brought about by AR's Ilse Keister, who was subsequently elected to chair the new management committee.
Parties represented on the council are Swapo, LPM, Nudo, AR and PDM.
[email protected]
During the council elections held last week, presiding officer Jozaan Klazen accepted Swapo’s Queen Kamati, Sam Shafishuna Nujoma and Austin Kwenani as duly elected management committee members, while directing that the additional two members be elected at the next council sitting.
This unprecedented development has, however, caused great furore amongst councillors, with the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), Affirmative Repositioning (AR) and Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) distancing themselves from the ‘system’.
Throughout the proceedings on Thursday evening, the IPC councillors kept their distance; however, in a leaked letter to all parties represented on the council - dated 23 January - IPC national general secretary Christine /Aochomus called for interventions to address the current deadlock.
“Consensus politics is vital for the prosperity and progress of the City of Windhoek. It is my conviction that by working together towards shared goals, rather than engaging in divisive battles, we can achieve far more for the residents of Windhoek,” she said.
“We, as a party, advocate for the implementation of proportional representation in the decision-making body of the City of Windhoek. This proposal would ensure that each party that has been empowered by the electorate is represented in the management committee.”
United front
Days before last week’s elections, National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) secretary-general Joseph Kauandenge called an urgent meeting for opposition parties to push for a united front against Swapo.
This initiative failed, however, as insiders claim it ended in a deadlock with no agreement amongst opposition leaders, who allegedly could not reach consensus on who should take up the positions.
Meanwhile, /Aochamus said parties agreeing to a consensus would avert a costly rerun of the now-concluded elections when the country is facing an economic crisis.
When contacted, she declined to comment on the letter, saying it was not supposed to reach the media and that they are currently still waiting for interventions from political parties.
Last year, the IPC-dominated management committee was dissolved following the failure of an urgent court application to set aside a vote of no confidence, brought about by AR's Ilse Keister, who was subsequently elected to chair the new management committee.
Parties represented on the council are Swapo, LPM, Nudo, AR and PDM.
[email protected]
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