Minister, LPM leader clash over control of local authorities and constitutional powers

Minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa and Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi have entered a war of words over the minister’s alleged control of local authorities.

Swartbooi says the Constitution does not allow a Cabinet minister to have authority over regional and local authorities, which have been established by citizens.

Sankwasa, who has made recent headlines for exposing alleged misconduct in councils, says he was only doing his job and only the president could stop him.

“I am only doing my job as per the law. I do not have anything against Swartbooi. But I think I know why he says I have no power to involve myself in local authorities’ matters.

“That is because I’m currently sitting with the auditor’s reports of //Kharas, which is in a mess, and whether he likes it or not, I am coming there, because it is my duty,” the minister yesterday told The Namibian.

According to the Local Authorities Act, the minister can take action to ensure local authorities comply with the act’s provisions and their statutory duties.

“Swartbooi is claiming I do not have the power to do so. He must tell this nation who has the power to hold localities accountable then.

“If he is coming at me personally, I will not sit idle. I am only doing my job,” he said.

The minister said it was impractical for only the electorate to hold local authorities accountable.

“How can my grandmother deep in the village travel to a locality to hold councillors accountable?”

Sankwasa recently dismissed Omuthiya councillor Johannes Ndeutapo for not living at the town, as a result contravening the Local Authorities Act.

Ndeutapo has since noted that he remains a councillor for Omuthiya and that Sankwsa does not have the authority to dismiss him.

Meanwhile, Swartbooi says he has instructed his team in the Hardap region to look into Sankwasa’s past as a councillor between 2004 and 2008.

“I have instructed the colleagues at Hardap to … start looking into the issues he has caused during his time,” he says.

Swartbooi says president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah handed an unqualified person a critical portfolio.

“He continues to insult the intelligence of our elected representatives by treating the leaders of these institutions as mere satellites of the decaying Swapo Party.

“Let it be clear that our councillors at regional and local authority level will only answer to the people who elected them in their respective jurisdiction, and not to Swapo,” he said.

Meanwhile, Popular Democratic Movement leader McHenry Venaani, who in 2022 called for the amendment of the act, yesterday said the law needs to be amended to address people living in the city who are not allowed to vote in another constituency.

“This is where the law needs to be amended,” he said.

Venaani in 2022 also argued that a councillor should be allowed to operate within a constituency even if not a resident of that constituency.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.