CoD targets veteran politician

THE Congress of Democrats has confirmed that it has recalled its Member of Parliament Nora Schimming-Chase after she purportedly failed to explain how she allegedly spent around N$600 000.

CoD secretary general Tsudao Gurirab said a National Working Committee meeting over the weekend also decided to sue Schimming-Chase to recover the money.Approached for comment yesterday, Schimming-Chase told The Namibian that she had not heard anything related to her withdrawal from the party but was ready to prove her innocence.Gurirab said the NWC took the decision after they received a report from Schimming-Chase.According to them, she did not deny receiving the money ‘but blamed all and sundry except herself’.’Under these circumstances, the NWC resolved to approach the courts of law to demand a full and complete account of the funds and to recover the funds spent without authority of the party,’ he said.He claimed Schimming-Chase put up ‘persistent theatrics’ making the situation untenable for her to represent the party and thus forced the NWC to withdraw her.Gurirab had not informed Schimming-Chase about her withdrawal by lunchtime yesterday when he briefed the media on the weekend’s resolutions.Schimming-Chase was surprised by the move, especially since the case is still in court where she had also submitted her answering affidavit recently.’I have given all bank statements to the court. The ones I could not account for were cheques to the amount of N$1,01 million which (Ben) Ulenga took. He must provide those receipts,’ she said.Schimming-Chase said although she was collecting the cheques from Parliament on behalf of the party – as designated by the party leadership – she did not make payments or withdrawals.’In fact I spent over N$60 000 from my own pocket on the CoD court case. Now they want to be judge, jury and prosecution. I stand to be judged by people who elected me and I will come out clean,’ she said.The fight over the party’s money dates back to the May 2007 disputed leadership elections held at Keetmanshoop, in which Ulenga was controversially re-elected as party leader and Schimming-Chase was ousted as vice president.Although Schimming-Chase was authorised to receive a Government cheque for the party and continued to do so after the Keetmanshoop congress, CoD leader Ulenga and others laid a charge of alleged theft against her.However, the National Assembly subsequently said Schimming-Chase and the late Kala Gertze were authorised to collect and sign cheques for CoD.Ulenga later wrote to the National Assembly informing them that only he, Gurirab and two additional CoD members, Rosa Namises and a certain Kapi, were authorised to collect party cheques.