Political analyst Ndumba Kamwanyah says urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa taking over the powers of the Katima Mulilo Town Council is undemocratic.
Sankwasa took over the power and functions of the Katima Mulilo Town Council after dissolving the council last week for failing to implement his directives to rectify alleged governance and management irregularities at the local authority.
Sankwasa says the Local Authorities Act of 1992 permits him to take over the powers, duties and functions of a town council until he appoints an administrator.
He announced on Wednesday that he will appoint an administrator soon.
However, Kamwanyah argues that as much as Sankwasa wants to address the issues of alleged incompetent councillors, he must adhere to democratic processes and procedures.
He says the councillors are elected by the people and represent the will of the people who elected them.
“Hence, only the people can recall them. Sankwasa is not an elected official, so he must maintain that delicate balance,” he says.
Kamwanyah says National Democratic Party (NDP) president Martin Lukato’s concerns about his councillor being fired while innocent are fair, as it would be unfair to face the consequences of something you didn’t take part in.
“NDP’s point about their councillor being uninvolved in the alleged wrongdoing is fair – it wouldn’t be just to punish someone who had no part in the problem. Each case should be assessed individually,” he says.
Public policy analyst Marius Kudumo says the act that Sankwasa relied on to fire is to be used consciously, with discretion and with due regard to principles of fairness.
“We do not have all the information that Sankwasa is privy to, but from an outsider perspective, it would appear that the action borders on vengeance and overreaction and is likely to be abuse of administrative power,” he says.
On the other hand, residents such as Owen Mahoto say Sankwasa’s decision to dissolve the council was long overdue, as they failed to govern, be accountable and act in the best interest of the town.
He adds that on 25 July they, as residents, handed over a petition to the council for urgent action on serious irregularities in land administration, poor service delivery and lack of transparency.
“However, they not only ignored this petition but failed to even acknowledge receipt, which was a final insult to the very people they were elected to serve. Hence, we also wrote to Sankwasa to call for the council to be dissolved immediately.
“Therefore, we welcome the dissolution. However, the real issues that drove the community to mobilise remain unresolved. The unlawful land transactions, the neglect of service delivery and the total lack of developmental progress in Katima Mulilo must still be addressed,” he says.
Another resident, Harris Maswahu, says the council was only there for personal gain and not for the interest of the masses.
“The local youth were left behind when it comes to plot allocation and tenders as well. Even when it comes to development in the town, there’s not much. We have roads full of potholes. Therefore, the minister, Sankwasa, did the right thing by firing them,” he says.
