THE Swapo party has won 12 out of 15 seats in the Windhoek municipal council, a result that has paved the way for a scramble for the mayor’s position.
Swapo won 11 seats in 2010 but increased that by one seat, a winning streak that means that the ruling party will have few opponents in the council which has been rocked by allegations of corruption, cronyism and partisanship.
The RDP, DTA and Nudo won a seat each. Windhoek mayor Muesee Kazapua retained his seat since he was number 11 on the Swapo list. His comrades Matilde Ukeva, Fransina Kahungu and city management committee chairperson Moses Shiikwa will be part of the old group that will steer the council together with the eight new Swapo councillors.
It’s not clear whether Kazapua will retain his position as mayor of the troubled municipality. There are those who are supporting Kazapua to retain the mayorship, however there are new and old councillors who also want the job.
The result will depend on the ruling party and council camps who will choose the next mayor. A meeting is set to be held today or tomorrow to decide who the next mayor will be. A public announcement will be made later this week in that regard.
The Swapo-led municipality has fresh faces after former deputy mayor Mwadhina Veico, Elainne Trepper, Boas Ekandjo, John Moonde, Gerson Kamatuka and Joseph Shikongo were knocked out. The majority of these were involved in dodgy land deals exposed by The Namibian.
The only RDP seat was taken by Brumelda Cornelius, one of the top performers in terms of blocking some dodgy land deals, but her comrade Tertisius Gaeseb failed to make it.
Gaeseb was also an outspoken councillor as he constantly challenged the Swapo dominated council when some decisions were made to benefit cronies of the ruling party.
New DTA councillor is Ignatius Sembva, while Nudo has Joseph Kauandenge.
THE DTA of Namibia Oshana regional coordinator Linus Tobias, who was elected to the Oshakati Town Council last weekend said his party is happy to have won a seat at Oshakati and another in the Ondangwa Town Council won by Johannes Martin.
Tobias described the towns as two of the most famous and important in Namibian history.
During well-organised victory celebrations at his house at Oshakati West yesterday, Tobias thanked his supporters for electing him to the Oshakati Town Council for the next five years.
The RDP councillor for Helao Nafidi, Vilho Shimooshili, said he was happy to be elected as one of the councillors and will work hard for the residents, regardless of their political affiliations.
Swapo dominates Erongo after low turnout
SWAPO won six of the seven constituencies in Erongo and dominated all seven local authorities with 34 out of the 55 seats.
The ruling party however lost Daures constituency to UDF’s Kennedy !Haoseb and one seat in the Omaruru Town Council.
Of the 106 246 registered voters in Erongo, only 31 885 (30,01%) turned up.
UDF president Apius Auchab said their victory in Daures was a matter of “the people taking back Daures into their own hands”.
The RDP is ‘missing in action’ in the region while the DTA has set its foot in. Previously, RDP had six council seats across the region – five of which have been taken over by the DTA.
