Rehoboth council ‘wasted chance to tackle corruption’

BASTER Kaptein John McNab has condemned Swapo members of the Rehoboth Town Council for voting against a motion on corruption.

The Baster traditional leader’s comments follow the rejection of a motion by Swapo councillors that was tabled by Martin Dentlinger last week Thursday.The motion dealt with incidents of alleged fraud, theft, corruption, gross negligence and incompetence in the Rehoboth Town Council.Dentlinger, a member of the United People’s Movement, said the issues raised in the motion contravened various sections of the Local Authorities Act and the Anti-Corruption Act.McNab said the town council ‘lost a golden opportunity to take a principle stance against corruption, theft and other evils’.Lambasting the Swapo councillors who voted in a block against the motion, he said ‘this was an opportunity for the newly elected councillors to distance themselves from the incriminating evidence against their predecessors’ contained in the Adonai report .The Adonai report was commissioned last year to investigate corrupt practices at the local authority, which is now in possession of the council.Dentlinger’s motion was based on the report, NcNab said.Swapo councillor Colleen van Wyk moved ‘for the rejection of the motion in its totality’.Van Wyk based her counter-motion on a number of technicalities in terms of the Council’s Standing Rules of Order. The motion was seconded by another Swapo councillor, Eve Maasdorp. As a result of the outright rejection of the motion, the merits of the issues raised in the motion could not be discussed.When put to the vote, three opposition councillors – two from UPM and one RDP – voted in favour and their entire Swapo bench consisting of four councillors opposed the motion.McNab said the motion was an open invitation for the new councillors to ‘join forces to fight corruption’.