LPM in trouble after recalling councillors
Mariental community members say the Landless People’s Movement has refused to receive a petition against the removal of two elected councillor.
MATHIAS HAUFIKU
WINDHOEK
The community of Mariental is up in arms after the recalling of two town councillors last week.
Representatives of the concerned group travelled to Windhoek yesterday to hand over a petition to the LPM party leadership in which they expressed their dissatisfaction. According to the representatives, party spokesperson Sade Gawanas refused to accept the petition at the LPM headquarters.
“She did not want to accept our petition because we refused to give her the list of names and contacts of the signatories. We know they will go and victimise the people,” Moody Kooper told Namibian Sun yesterday.
According to the petition, the members want the national leadership of the party to reinstate councillors Daniel Gariseb and Rogetha Haack.
“We the Mariental community members and voters want to make it known that we have entrusted LPM party our votes through these democratically elected councillors in whom we have full confidence and trust in. We vehemently oppose their removal from the Mariental town council and deem this action as unconstitutional and unjust,” the petition signed by 58 people reads.
It further reads: “We have done our research and came to the conclusion that the national leadership of LPM has no solid grounds that can justify the removal of councillors Gariseb and Haack.”
They said their trust and confidence in the party, its structures and president has wavered following last week’s incident.
Refused
“The LPM party prides and promotes itself as a party for all Namibians that is free and fair, transparent, have a zero tolerance for corruption and nepotism amongst others ills, as well as aiming to restore the dignity of our people, yet in this saga, the party finds itself at the very centre of corruption, autocracy, nepotism and stripping people of their dignity with their decision,” reads the petition.
They also accused the party leadership of remaining “tight-lipped pertaining the exact nature of their decision to remove these two councillors and on the damning allegations pertaining the hiring of a personal assistant (PA) to the office of the mayor of Mariental with the preferred candidate being a cousin of Mr. Swartbooi and Kuhlmann”.
“The people of Mariental demand that these two councillors be reinstated with immediate effect and that any trivial matters of personality differences be set aside as it the people of this community that gets to be negatively affected,” the group demanded, adding that they would not accept any replacements.
“We further refuse to accept any other unlawfully appointed representatives that would serve as puppets to further the selfish interests of a select few at the expense of the Mariental people to be sworn in and will boycott any such swearing in and council meetings until our demands have been met,” the group said.
The LPM spokesman neither answered calls nor responded to a text message sent to her mobile phone.
WINDHOEK
The community of Mariental is up in arms after the recalling of two town councillors last week.
Representatives of the concerned group travelled to Windhoek yesterday to hand over a petition to the LPM party leadership in which they expressed their dissatisfaction. According to the representatives, party spokesperson Sade Gawanas refused to accept the petition at the LPM headquarters.
“She did not want to accept our petition because we refused to give her the list of names and contacts of the signatories. We know they will go and victimise the people,” Moody Kooper told Namibian Sun yesterday.
According to the petition, the members want the national leadership of the party to reinstate councillors Daniel Gariseb and Rogetha Haack.
“We the Mariental community members and voters want to make it known that we have entrusted LPM party our votes through these democratically elected councillors in whom we have full confidence and trust in. We vehemently oppose their removal from the Mariental town council and deem this action as unconstitutional and unjust,” the petition signed by 58 people reads.
It further reads: “We have done our research and came to the conclusion that the national leadership of LPM has no solid grounds that can justify the removal of councillors Gariseb and Haack.”
They said their trust and confidence in the party, its structures and president has wavered following last week’s incident.
Refused
“The LPM party prides and promotes itself as a party for all Namibians that is free and fair, transparent, have a zero tolerance for corruption and nepotism amongst others ills, as well as aiming to restore the dignity of our people, yet in this saga, the party finds itself at the very centre of corruption, autocracy, nepotism and stripping people of their dignity with their decision,” reads the petition.
They also accused the party leadership of remaining “tight-lipped pertaining the exact nature of their decision to remove these two councillors and on the damning allegations pertaining the hiring of a personal assistant (PA) to the office of the mayor of Mariental with the preferred candidate being a cousin of Mr. Swartbooi and Kuhlmann”.
“The people of Mariental demand that these two councillors be reinstated with immediate effect and that any trivial matters of personality differences be set aside as it the people of this community that gets to be negatively affected,” the group demanded, adding that they would not accept any replacements.
“We further refuse to accept any other unlawfully appointed representatives that would serve as puppets to further the selfish interests of a select few at the expense of the Mariental people to be sworn in and will boycott any such swearing in and council meetings until our demands have been met,” the group said.
The LPM spokesman neither answered calls nor responded to a text message sent to her mobile phone.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article