Swapo delays Otjiwarongo council election
Just 30 minutes before the meeting was set to start, opposition party councillors were informed that their Swapo counterparts would not grace the session with their presence.
Enzo Amuele
OTJIWARONGO
Elections of Otjiwarongo office-bearers were called off after Swapo Party council members failed to avail themselves to the process. The elections were only attended by three opposition party local authority councillors – Landless People’s Movement’s (LPM) Sebeteus Guiteb, Independent Patriots of Change’s (IPC) Elizabeth Botha and Popular Democratic Movement’s (PDM) Maritz Laubscher, who attended virtually.
According to Botha, the reasons stipulated by Swapo councillors in a letter on why they couldn’t attend are insufficient.
“We received a notification from the CEO Moses Matjayi at 13h30 today while the meeting was scheduled for 14h00, indicating that Swapo Party councillors will not be able to attend due to Covid-19 related reasons. We were informed that some of the councillors were exposed to a positive Covid-19 case, however, none of them - to our knowledge - tested positive,” she said.
Botha added that another reason cited in the letter is that Swapo will have a workshop from 20 to 23 December.
“These reasons are not sufficient enough for not attending statutory and obligatory election proceedings that should take place. The people of Otjiwarongo are not being served by the council as they should be due to the actions [of] Swapo,” she said.
She said sufficient time was given to ensure that these elections could proceed without any issues.
Could have used Zoom
In a telephonic interview, Laubscher said Swapo is pushing to have a new councillor gazetted before the elections. This after Hilde Noreses resigned.
He said the ruling party sees that it’s losing members on the council and that’s why they didn’t show up to the meeting.
Magistrate Karl Muyeghu postponed the elections to 14 January 2022.
Laubscher added even if one of the reasons Swapo’s councillors couldn’t attend is Covid-19, a Zoom meeting was set up for those who could not attend physically.
Muyeghu said the Swapo councillors will each have to explain why they could not attend the meeting. There is only one member that still needs to be nominated to serve on the management committee for elections to conclude.
Refusal
Meanwhile, Matjayi refused to share a copy of the letter sent by the Swapo members with the other councillors, stating that he is yet to consult the Act. However, during the proceedings, Muyeghu instructed him to make copies of the letter for transparency.
According to LPM’s Guiteb, the CEO is a Swapo appointee and is running the council on a Swapo agenda.
“He should in fact be charged for contempt of court. He is not above the law at all. I am disappointed in his actions and he should either join politics or stay out,” he said.
Guiteb added that the electorate was again “taken for a ride by Swapo” in light of the meeting being cancelled.
Next
Noreses resigned after being found guilty of corruptly soliciting, accepting or agreeing to accept gratification by an agent as an incentive while she was employed at the finance ministry in Otjiwarongo.
According to Swapo regional treasurer Patrick Xoagub, in the culture of the party, there is a list of both men and women and the list is followed accordingly.
“Hilde Jessaya is next on the list from the women’s list and her name has been sent to the minister for endorsement,” he said.
OTJIWARONGO
Elections of Otjiwarongo office-bearers were called off after Swapo Party council members failed to avail themselves to the process. The elections were only attended by three opposition party local authority councillors – Landless People’s Movement’s (LPM) Sebeteus Guiteb, Independent Patriots of Change’s (IPC) Elizabeth Botha and Popular Democratic Movement’s (PDM) Maritz Laubscher, who attended virtually.
According to Botha, the reasons stipulated by Swapo councillors in a letter on why they couldn’t attend are insufficient.
“We received a notification from the CEO Moses Matjayi at 13h30 today while the meeting was scheduled for 14h00, indicating that Swapo Party councillors will not be able to attend due to Covid-19 related reasons. We were informed that some of the councillors were exposed to a positive Covid-19 case, however, none of them - to our knowledge - tested positive,” she said.
Botha added that another reason cited in the letter is that Swapo will have a workshop from 20 to 23 December.
“These reasons are not sufficient enough for not attending statutory and obligatory election proceedings that should take place. The people of Otjiwarongo are not being served by the council as they should be due to the actions [of] Swapo,” she said.
She said sufficient time was given to ensure that these elections could proceed without any issues.
Could have used Zoom
In a telephonic interview, Laubscher said Swapo is pushing to have a new councillor gazetted before the elections. This after Hilde Noreses resigned.
He said the ruling party sees that it’s losing members on the council and that’s why they didn’t show up to the meeting.
Magistrate Karl Muyeghu postponed the elections to 14 January 2022.
Laubscher added even if one of the reasons Swapo’s councillors couldn’t attend is Covid-19, a Zoom meeting was set up for those who could not attend physically.
Muyeghu said the Swapo councillors will each have to explain why they could not attend the meeting. There is only one member that still needs to be nominated to serve on the management committee for elections to conclude.
Refusal
Meanwhile, Matjayi refused to share a copy of the letter sent by the Swapo members with the other councillors, stating that he is yet to consult the Act. However, during the proceedings, Muyeghu instructed him to make copies of the letter for transparency.
According to LPM’s Guiteb, the CEO is a Swapo appointee and is running the council on a Swapo agenda.
“He should in fact be charged for contempt of court. He is not above the law at all. I am disappointed in his actions and he should either join politics or stay out,” he said.
Guiteb added that the electorate was again “taken for a ride by Swapo” in light of the meeting being cancelled.
Next
Noreses resigned after being found guilty of corruptly soliciting, accepting or agreeing to accept gratification by an agent as an incentive while she was employed at the finance ministry in Otjiwarongo.
According to Swapo regional treasurer Patrick Xoagub, in the culture of the party, there is a list of both men and women and the list is followed accordingly.
“Hilde Jessaya is next on the list from the women’s list and her name has been sent to the minister for endorsement,” he said.
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