Masua, three board members quit NYC after assembly collapse

Interim National Youth Council (NYC) executive chairperson Patience Masua and three fellow board members have stepped down from the institution in the aftermath of last weekend's aborted general assembly, which left nine delegates injured during violent clashes.

Board members Jamie Theron, Unombuiro Kauteza and Ester Shitana also resigned.

"We would like to focus on other professional ambitions at this stage," the departing members said jointly.

Namibian Sun understands that the resignations were partly influenced by frustration over education and youth minister Sanet Steenkamp's decision to halt the general assembly, which convened in Swakopmund to elect a substantive executive chairperson and a new board.

"We wasted our time organising a very credible general assembly, only for the minister to cancel it this way," one of the departing board members said.

Board members remaining in office are Donna Gamatham, Iyaloo Shiimi, Almandro Jansen and Christine Francisco-Malwa.

Steenkamp's decision to suspend the assembly has sparked a growing legal and political dispute over whether she acted within the powers granted to her under the National Youth Council Act.

Addressing parliament this week, deputy minister Dino Ballotti defended the intervention, arguing that government was confronted with both security and governance concerns, which “made it impossible" for the general assembly to proceed responsibly.

"Government was therefore confronted with two parallel realities. The first was a deteriorating security environment arising from the events of 20 June,” he said.

"The second was the existence of unresolved governance and procedural concerns that had the potential to undermine confidence in the legitimacy of any electoral outcome.”

Legal powers

Ballotti said the ministry had received complaints before the assembly relating to affiliate compliance, delegate verification and adherence to the approved roadmap.

"Accordingly, and in the interest of protecting both the safety of participants and the integrity of the institution, minister Sanet Steenkamp took the difficult yet responsible decision to postpone further proceedings of the general assembly pending the conclusion of the necessary investigations," he told lawmakers.

However, the explanation has done little to quell criticism from opposition youth leaders, who argue that the minister lacks the legal authority to suspend the council's highest decision-making body.

Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) national youth leader Michael Mwashindange recently told Namibian Sun that the minister's intervention may have contravened the NYC Act.

"Section 5 of the NYC Act states that the general assembly is the highest policy and decision-making body of the council. It is not the ministry, and it is not the minister. The minister's postponement is therefore unlawful," he argued.

"The same Act gave the general assembly powers which include considering and implementing proposals on urgent matters. The power is with the GA and not the minister or the ministry."

Review has begun

Ballotti told parliament that a review of the NYC Act is already underway.

“There is a draft review, and it will soon continue with external consultations.”

Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) MP Inna Hengari said parliament had yet to receive satisfactory answers regarding the events that unfolded and whether broader institutional reforms are needed.

"As opposed to coming here and making political statements with no real solutions, let's rather afford every member of this House an appropriate platform to have a genuine conversation about the National Youth Council, its mandate, and whether, really, the Act in its current form can help us in terms of governance issues and financial accountability issues," Hengari said.

When questioned about the way forward, Ballotti acknowledged that government is not yet in a position to indicate when the assembly will reconvene.