Otavi Mayor on way out

OTAVI has become the second town in recent weeks to decide to boot its Mayor.

The Otavi Residents’ Association (ORA) took a decision to fire Mayor Markus Damaseb, his deputy Magdalena Noarises and Chairman of the Management Committee, Gerson Gamibeb, last week. However, procedural hitches have stalled finalisation of the move.At a meeting on Monday night, the ORA agreed that the trio should be replaced by Martha Mukuwe, Laurentius Ihuhua and Johanna Garas.But yesterday Otavi Town Clerk Joseph Jantze said he was not yet in possession of the required documents to channel the association’s decision to the Local Government Ministry and have the group officially out.ORA Chairman Gottfried Uwu-Khaeb told The Namibian yesterday that residents had lost trust in the councillors and wanted them removed.”They concentrate a lot on petty issues. They don’t work towards the shared vision of the association,” said Uwu-Khaeb. Earlier this month, the United Democratic Front (UDF) ousted Khorixas Mayor Gerson /Goagoseb and two management committee members, Erwin /Howaseb and Petrus Ukongo, after residents complained that the councillors no longer served their interests.Last week, Jantze was approached by the association to implement the decision, but he said a number of procedural discrepancies had to be sorted out first.The residents’ association holds four seats on the council – the other three are occupied by Swapo.ORA said Noarises no longer served the needs of residents after moving to Karibib towards the end of last year.The other two were said to have failed to work with the community on council issues.The three are also being blamed for a lack of development at the town and for not conveying council decisions to residents.”Nothing is going on here. We must change these people. There must be change. Their only communication to residents was through the media,” claimed Uwu-Khaeb.Damaseb who has served on the council for six years – first as Chairman of the Council and the last three years as the Mayor – said yesterday that he had no hard feelings about the decision.He told The Namibian that by yesterday the association’s intentions had not been formally conveyed to him, but that he had been informed of the move from other quarters.”I’m not a person to fight. I don’t want to work with people who work behind my back. I don’t have a grudge against anybody. I enjoyed my time serving the community of Otavi,” said Damaseb.”If they have decided on someone else, it’s okay. There should be change”. Damaseb said he had anyway not intended to stand for local authority elections scheduled for May.He felt that development had not come to the town, because its affairs were not in the hands of a political party and because the Otavi Residents’ Association was not represented at regional government level.For this reason, Damaseb said, he had advised residents to rather support political parties in the coming elections.”I have realised politics plays a role everywhere. It makes it difficult for development. Now they [residents] say I’m a Swapo member. But they support political parties in the other elections anyway,” he said.Damaseb said he intended to resign as Otavi’s messenger of the court and take up full-time farming.His imminent departure has also put the brakes on negotiations with NamWater on an outstanding debt of about N$400 000 and having the town’s full water supply restored.Jantze said yesterday he had requested a postponement of the meeting with NamWater until his “house was in order”.Damaseb was to meet with the water utility this week to discuss a proposal of paying half the arrears up front and the remainder over the next 18 months.The municipality has said it could not track debts and bill its customers after a fire gutted its offices last year and destroyed all data.Water supply at the town is now down to 30 per cent of full supply.However, procedural hitches have stalled finalisation of the move. At a meeting on Monday night, the ORA agreed that the trio should be replaced by Martha Mukuwe, Laurentius Ihuhua and Johanna Garas. But yesterday Otavi Town Clerk Joseph Jantze said he was not yet in possession of the required documents to channel the association’s decision to the Local Government Ministry and have the group officially out. ORA Chairman Gottfried Uwu-Khaeb told The Namibian yesterday that residents had lost trust in the councillors and wanted them removed. “They concentrate a lot on petty issues. They don’t work towards the shared vision of the association,” said Uwu-Khaeb. Earlier this month, the United Democratic Front (UDF) ousted Khorixas Mayor Gerson /Goagoseb and two management committee members, Erwin /Howaseb and Petrus Ukongo, after residents complained that the councillors no longer served their interests. Last week, Jantze was approached by the association to implement the decision, but he said a number of procedural discrepancies had to be sorted out first. The residents’ association holds four seats on the council – the other three are occupied by Swapo. ORA said Noarises no longer served the needs of residents after moving to Karibib towards the end of last year. The other two were said to have failed to work with the community on council issues. The three are also being blamed for a lack of development at the town and for not conveying council decisions to residents. “Nothing is going on here. We must change these people. There must be change. Their only communication to residents was through the media,” claimed Uwu-Khaeb. Damaseb who has served on the council for six years – first as Chairman of the Council and the last three years as the Mayor – said yesterday that he had no hard feelings about the decision. He told The Namibian that by yesterday the association’s intentions had not been formally conveyed to him, but that he had been informed of the move from other quarters. “I’m not a person to fight. I don’t want to work with people who work behind my back. I don’t have a grudge against anybody. I enjoyed my time serving the community of Otavi,” said Damaseb. “If they have decided on someone else, it’s okay. There should be change”. Damaseb said he had anyway not intended to stand for local authority elections scheduled for May. He felt that development had not come to the town, because its affairs were not in the hands of a political party and because the Otavi Residents’ Association was not represented at regional government level. For this reason, Damaseb said, he had advised residents to rather support political parties in the coming elections. “I have realised politics plays a role everywhere. It makes it difficult for development. Now they [residents] say I’m a Swapo member. But they support political parties in the other elections anyway,” he said. Damaseb said he intended to resign as Otavi’s messenger of the court and take up full-time farming. His imminent departure has also put the brakes on negotiations with NamWater on an outstanding debt of about N$400 000 and having the town’s full water supply restored. Jantze said yesterday he had requested a postponement of the meeting with NamWater until his “house was in order”. Damaseb was to meet with the water utility this week to discuss a proposal of paying half the arrears up front and the remainder over the next 18 months. The municipality has said it could not track debts and bill its customers after a fire gutted its offices last year and destroyed all data. Water supply at the town is now down to 30 per cent of full supply.