Sankwasa’s actions could dilute the will of the people
OPINION
Act 92 (2) (a) of the Local Authority Act 23 of 1992 as amended should vest its powers in the National Assembly, in the National Council and in the president; otherwise, minister of urban and rural development Sankwasa James Sankwasa could, in the short to medium term, seriously dilute the will of the people.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The recently appointed minister possibly completely misunderstands the Local Authority Act 23 of 1992, particularly section 92 (2) (a) as amended, and thinks that it perhaps gives him unfettered powers to do as and when he pleases.
He was just appointed on 21 March.
He formally wrote a letter to the Katima Mulilo Town Council leadership on 22 July, and within three weeks, on 15 August, he dissolved it – apparently because they did not jump to his tune.
The minister told a local publication that had the City of Windhoek councillors had a year in office, he would have fired them based on his opinion after sitting with them for only six hours.
Now, if a minister can just be appointed today and the next day, he has the full powers based on assumption to remove an elected council without any due process as per the relevant applicable laws, what is the use of local authority elections?
Why should political parties and Namibians waste their time in campaigning and waiting in queues to vote if an appointed official subsequently has the ultimate power to dissolve an entire local authority council?
Namibia as a nation seriously needs to scrutinise these absolute powers before it destroys the true intended purpose and powers of this Act, which is to decentralise power and allow decisions on their socio-economic developmental affairs at the local and regional level.
The principle of who hires and fires should not be ignored; otherwise, we risk creating an autocratic system that, over time, could completely erode the will of the people – particularly if such power is used indiscriminately, as demonstrated by the minister, who threatened City of Windhoek councillors with dismissal without due process.
Minister Sankwasa might mean well, but his short-tempered autocratic leadership style could be a national democratic threat to the very constitutional principle as intended by our forefathers that we, the people, are in charge of our destiny instead of an appointed individual who is not directly elected and subsequently not accountable to the people.
Namibia as a country already has the relevant institutional entities and capacity to investigate any crimes and maladministration that may have occurred.
These systems should be exhausted independently.
And those that may be accused of those crimes should be legally held responsible so that justice takes its full course.
If corruption is seen to be done at those levels, the relevant entities, including the ACC and police, should become involved to ensure the full wrath of the law can take its course, as in many other instances.
Further to that, political parties that have fielded sometimes highly questionable candidates onto councils should, with due pressure, withdraw those individuals who must face legal consequences.
Individuals should be chosen with sound positive characters and integrity to represent parties on councils, as any bad intentions could negatively affect those who want to truly serve the interests of voters.
Local and regional authorities are an extremely important political segment in our democratic dispensation and should not be treated with kids’ gloves, as the persistent abuse of this power will subsequently seriously erode the intended purpose of the decentralisation of power to the people as was sincerely intended.
Section 92(2)(a) of the Local Authorities Act 23 of 1992, as amended, therefore urgently needs to be re-vested in the National Assembly, the National Council, and the president in order to safeguard the true democratic principles clearly enshrined in our Supreme Constitution.
*Pendapala Hangala believes in the potential of Namibians to achieve great things for themselves if given the chance. He writes in his personal capacity.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The recently appointed minister possibly completely misunderstands the Local Authority Act 23 of 1992, particularly section 92 (2) (a) as amended, and thinks that it perhaps gives him unfettered powers to do as and when he pleases.
He was just appointed on 21 March.
He formally wrote a letter to the Katima Mulilo Town Council leadership on 22 July, and within three weeks, on 15 August, he dissolved it – apparently because they did not jump to his tune.
The minister told a local publication that had the City of Windhoek councillors had a year in office, he would have fired them based on his opinion after sitting with them for only six hours.
Now, if a minister can just be appointed today and the next day, he has the full powers based on assumption to remove an elected council without any due process as per the relevant applicable laws, what is the use of local authority elections?
Why should political parties and Namibians waste their time in campaigning and waiting in queues to vote if an appointed official subsequently has the ultimate power to dissolve an entire local authority council?
Namibia as a nation seriously needs to scrutinise these absolute powers before it destroys the true intended purpose and powers of this Act, which is to decentralise power and allow decisions on their socio-economic developmental affairs at the local and regional level.
The principle of who hires and fires should not be ignored; otherwise, we risk creating an autocratic system that, over time, could completely erode the will of the people – particularly if such power is used indiscriminately, as demonstrated by the minister, who threatened City of Windhoek councillors with dismissal without due process.
Minister Sankwasa might mean well, but his short-tempered autocratic leadership style could be a national democratic threat to the very constitutional principle as intended by our forefathers that we, the people, are in charge of our destiny instead of an appointed individual who is not directly elected and subsequently not accountable to the people.
Namibia as a country already has the relevant institutional entities and capacity to investigate any crimes and maladministration that may have occurred.
These systems should be exhausted independently.
And those that may be accused of those crimes should be legally held responsible so that justice takes its full course.
If corruption is seen to be done at those levels, the relevant entities, including the ACC and police, should become involved to ensure the full wrath of the law can take its course, as in many other instances.
Further to that, political parties that have fielded sometimes highly questionable candidates onto councils should, with due pressure, withdraw those individuals who must face legal consequences.
Individuals should be chosen with sound positive characters and integrity to represent parties on councils, as any bad intentions could negatively affect those who want to truly serve the interests of voters.
Local and regional authorities are an extremely important political segment in our democratic dispensation and should not be treated with kids’ gloves, as the persistent abuse of this power will subsequently seriously erode the intended purpose of the decentralisation of power to the people as was sincerely intended.
Section 92(2)(a) of the Local Authorities Act 23 of 1992, as amended, therefore urgently needs to be re-vested in the National Assembly, the National Council, and the president in order to safeguard the true democratic principles clearly enshrined in our Supreme Constitution.
*Pendapala Hangala believes in the potential of Namibians to achieve great things for themselves if given the chance. He writes in his personal capacity.
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