Knowledge spits venom at Itula
Asked about his relationship with Dr Panduleni Itula and his new political party, Knowledge Ipinge said the Independent Patriots for Change making it clear in its constitution that it does not support independent candidates is “hypocrisy”.
11 September 2020 | Politics
LEANDREA LOUW
WALVIS BAY
Walvis Bay Urban constituency councillor Knowledge Ipinge says coalition talks have started between opposition parties at Walvis Bay ahead of the November local and regional authority elections, but at the same time slammed Dr Panduleni Itula and his newly formed Independent Patriots for Change (IPC).
“For me, this is hypocrisy. You cannot have gained popularity by being an independent candidate, and now that you have formed your own party you are saying the opposite. He should be consistent with what he does,” Ipinge said of Itula, who garnered about 30% of last year's presidential election that saw President Hage Geingob's support plunge from 87% in 2014 to 56.3%. “There is an urgent need for opposition political parties to form a partnership and map out the blueprint that will guide us leading up to the November elections.
“It is important to note that we are all talking about the same thing - in terms of the housing crisis.
“The Landless People's Movement (LPM) has an approach to housing, as has the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) and Popular Democratic Movement (PDM).
“It's important for us to come together and decide who has the best solution or who has a policy in place that adds value,” Ipinge added.
He said coalition talks with the LPM started in 2019, when the party didn't have a candidate for the Walvis Bay Urban by-election that voted him in as regional councillor.
Independent candidate
Ipinge said he will be standing as an independent candidate for the upcoming elections. According to him, AR has no interest in regional council elections.
“AR is only registered in the local authority elections. If they see the need to campaign with me, they are more than welcome. If any other opposition political party sees the need to campaign with me, they are welcome.”
Asked about his relationship with Itula, he said he never had the former independent presidential candidate's backing.
He said Itula's new political party, the IPC, makes it clear in its constitution that it does not support independent candidates.
He also lambasted Itula for allegedly promising people at the launch of his party that they would be able to buy plots for N$1 000.
“You can never give erven of N$1 000 in Walvis Bay, because the costs for earthworks to flatten and stabilise the ground won't make it possible.
“When things like this are being said, we should … hold that person accountable.
“I will remain an independent candidate, because to me party politics is not the way to go. I will work with political parties who share the same ideologies, but I am not interested in joining any political party. Let it be very clear.”
Itula responds
“Thank you for your inquiry. Regrettably, I am locked down in Windhoek and was not present at the event alleged, which constituted the source of your inquiries.
“Furthermore, the IPC list of delegates to the founding convention that took place from
31 July 2020 to 2 August 2020, as I reviewed it, does not contain the name of the source of the allegations contained in your quotations, nor have I ever engaged the alleged source of the allegations, so named. I trust the above meets with your expectations,” Itula said in a brief response when asked for comment.
Venaani open to cooperation
PDM leader McHenry Venaani said his party is on record expressing a desire to “cooperate with all forces in the country, provided that we don't promote tribalism in any form and way”.
“We value AR as genuine social movement.
“We haven't started talks at a national level, but goodwill exists to start. At regional level, there are synergies of thought germinating.
“We warn political players out of experience that this election is about being first past the post at regional level; it can be won by a single vote, hence splitting of votes by the opposition will play out in the favour of the ruling party. Thus, we are preparing to discuss cooperation, and letters are already prepared to send to various formations,” Venaani added.
New logo
To celebrate his 35th birthday, Ipinge introduced a new campaign logo.
“The main red colour symbolises my ideology as a Sankarist and the touch of yellow is to symbolise the importance of individual freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of association, unity of our residents, access to healthcare, access to decent education, advocacy for gender and racial equality in my drive to promote civil rights and youth self-reliance,” he said.
WALVIS BAY
Walvis Bay Urban constituency councillor Knowledge Ipinge says coalition talks have started between opposition parties at Walvis Bay ahead of the November local and regional authority elections, but at the same time slammed Dr Panduleni Itula and his newly formed Independent Patriots for Change (IPC).
“For me, this is hypocrisy. You cannot have gained popularity by being an independent candidate, and now that you have formed your own party you are saying the opposite. He should be consistent with what he does,” Ipinge said of Itula, who garnered about 30% of last year's presidential election that saw President Hage Geingob's support plunge from 87% in 2014 to 56.3%. “There is an urgent need for opposition political parties to form a partnership and map out the blueprint that will guide us leading up to the November elections.
“It is important to note that we are all talking about the same thing - in terms of the housing crisis.
“The Landless People's Movement (LPM) has an approach to housing, as has the Affirmative Repositioning (AR) and Popular Democratic Movement (PDM).
“It's important for us to come together and decide who has the best solution or who has a policy in place that adds value,” Ipinge added.
He said coalition talks with the LPM started in 2019, when the party didn't have a candidate for the Walvis Bay Urban by-election that voted him in as regional councillor.
Independent candidate
Ipinge said he will be standing as an independent candidate for the upcoming elections. According to him, AR has no interest in regional council elections.
“AR is only registered in the local authority elections. If they see the need to campaign with me, they are more than welcome. If any other opposition political party sees the need to campaign with me, they are welcome.”
Asked about his relationship with Itula, he said he never had the former independent presidential candidate's backing.
He said Itula's new political party, the IPC, makes it clear in its constitution that it does not support independent candidates.
He also lambasted Itula for allegedly promising people at the launch of his party that they would be able to buy plots for N$1 000.
“You can never give erven of N$1 000 in Walvis Bay, because the costs for earthworks to flatten and stabilise the ground won't make it possible.
“When things like this are being said, we should … hold that person accountable.
“I will remain an independent candidate, because to me party politics is not the way to go. I will work with political parties who share the same ideologies, but I am not interested in joining any political party. Let it be very clear.”
Itula responds
“Thank you for your inquiry. Regrettably, I am locked down in Windhoek and was not present at the event alleged, which constituted the source of your inquiries.
“Furthermore, the IPC list of delegates to the founding convention that took place from
31 July 2020 to 2 August 2020, as I reviewed it, does not contain the name of the source of the allegations contained in your quotations, nor have I ever engaged the alleged source of the allegations, so named. I trust the above meets with your expectations,” Itula said in a brief response when asked for comment.
Venaani open to cooperation
PDM leader McHenry Venaani said his party is on record expressing a desire to “cooperate with all forces in the country, provided that we don't promote tribalism in any form and way”.
“We value AR as genuine social movement.
“We haven't started talks at a national level, but goodwill exists to start. At regional level, there are synergies of thought germinating.
“We warn political players out of experience that this election is about being first past the post at regional level; it can be won by a single vote, hence splitting of votes by the opposition will play out in the favour of the ruling party. Thus, we are preparing to discuss cooperation, and letters are already prepared to send to various formations,” Venaani added.
New logo
To celebrate his 35th birthday, Ipinge introduced a new campaign logo.
“The main red colour symbolises my ideology as a Sankarist and the touch of yellow is to symbolise the importance of individual freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of association, unity of our residents, access to healthcare, access to decent education, advocacy for gender and racial equality in my drive to promote civil rights and youth self-reliance,” he said.
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