LPM walks out of coalition talks

JEMIMA BEUKES



WINDHOEK

The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) has opted out of a coalition with opposition parties because issues affecting residents played second fiddle to who should occupy which position, the party said.

Last weekend, opposition parties convened to reach consensus on who should take the mayor, deputy mayor and chairperson of the management committee positions.

Namibian Sun has reliably established that the LPM representative walked out of the meeting without explanation.

This fall out was apparent as LPM was the only opposition party to not nominate a candidate during the City of Windhoek election for mayor, deputy mayor and management committee positions.

Ranking of issues

In a media statement, LPM deputy spokesperson Joyce Muzengua last week said there is no way the party will subject itself to minimalism when it brings a balance of power to the table – one that must be appreciated by anyone who wants to bargain for power.

“We have a ranking of issues of priority we needed to agree on, such as land audits, human resources audits, finance audits and ancestral land. We support urban and informal settlement reform and land grab of vacant urban land for families in low income brackets who are deprived of land simply because they cannot afford it,” she said.

Muzengua added that LPM has urged other political parties not to throw their weight around, and that it was unfortunate that bargaining for positions took centre stage.

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