Swapo stubbornness sparks dilemma at Usakos, Karibib

THE position of Deputy Mayor at both the Karibib and Usakos Town Councils have still not been filled – more than two months after the Local Authority elections.

This has never happened before in the history of Local Authorities in the country. As the Local Authorities Act does not provide for such a situation, the matter had to be referred to the Office of the Attorney General for legal advice, said Gerhard Toetemeyer, Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government and Housing.He told The Namibian yesterday that he remained concerned about the issue, but said his Ministry had no right to intervene as Councils were autonomous bodies.”The Act merely states these are the positions and all of them have to be filled.”The Deputy Minister said the two Councils were requested to find a solution at a workshop held at Okahandja last month for newly-elected Councillors.He was hoping they would have solved the problem in the meantime.Toetemeyer said he had also taken up the matter about five weeks ago through a written request to the Office of the Attorney General for clarity.”About 10 days ago I followed up on the request as we urgently need a legal interpretation and substantial comments on what should be done.”No feedback has been received yet.When The Namibian contacted the Office of the Attorney General yesterday an official dealing with legal matters said he could not divulge any information on behalf of a client without permission.He would also not say whether a decision had already been taken on the issue.Swapo Councillors at the two towns remain unhappy with the coalition formed between opposition parties to give them majority seats of four against three on both Councils.The Councillors still refuse to take the Deputy Mayor positions offered to them after all the other positions were taken up by opposition members.At Karibib Swapo is demanding that it be given the positions of Mayor and Chairperson of the Management Committee.Petrus Nabot, a Swapo Councillor, told The Namibian that the three ruling party candidates were standing by their original decision not to take up any positions until they were instructed otherwise by the party.At Usakos, Swapo Councillor Pieter Hermann refused to speak to The Namibian “until your paper stops its anti-Swapo crusade”.Hermann referred the reporter to a press statement issued by him as Swapo Branch Co-ordinator at Usakos on May 27.In the statement he says Swapo won the Local Authority election with 750 votes, compared to 388 votes for the CoD and 373 votes for the UDF.”The Swapo Party, having received 750 votes (out of 1 601), cannot be denied the right to occupy commanding positions within the Council, and shall not be used in a humiliating manner only to have the constitution of the Management Committee structure complete for the sake of consolidating the entire formation of that structure.”According to the statement the “so-called coalition Councillors” were denying the Swapo Councillors the opportunity to “influence the development planning process” at the town.When the Usakos Council was formally constituted for a second time early last month, after the first attempt failed, the Swapo Councillors again refused to nominate a colleague to the Deputy Mayor position.Instead, Hermann nominated Phillemon Nauseb of the UDF.As the Local Authorities Act does not provide for such a situation, the matter had to be referred to the Office of the Attorney General for legal advice, said Gerhard Toetemeyer, Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government and Housing.He told The Namibian yesterday that he remained concerned about the issue, but said his Ministry had no right to intervene as Councils were autonomous bodies.”The Act merely states these are the positions and all of them have to be filled.”The Deputy Minister said the two Councils were requested to find a solution at a workshop held at Okahandja last month for newly-elected Councillors.He was hoping they would have solved the problem in the meantime.Toetemeyer said he had also taken up the matter about five weeks ago through a written request to the Office of the Attorney General for clarity.”About 10 days ago I followed up on the request as we urgently need a legal interpretation and substantial comments on what should be done.”No feedback has been received yet.When The Namibian contacted the Office of the Attorney General yesterday an official dealing with legal matters said he could not divulge any information on behalf of a client without permission.He would also not say whether a decision had already been taken on the issue.Swapo Councillors at the two towns remain unhappy with the coalition formed between opposition parties to give them majority seats of four against three on both Councils.The Councillors still refuse to take the Deputy Mayor positions offered to them after all the other positions were taken up by opposition members.At Karibib Swapo is demanding that it be given the positions of Mayor and Chairperson of the Management Committee.Petrus Nabot, a Swapo Councillor, told The Namibian that the three ruling party candidates were standing by their original decision not to take up any positions until they were instructed otherwise by the party.At Usakos, Swapo Councillor Pieter Hermann refused to speak to The Namibian “until your paper stops its anti-Swapo crusade”.Hermann referred the reporter to a press statement issued by him as Swapo Branch Co-ordinator at Usakos on May 27.In the statement he says Swapo won the Local Authority election with 750 votes, compared to 388 votes for the CoD and 373 votes for the UDF.”The Swapo Party, having received 750 votes (out of 1 601), cannot be denied the right to occupy commanding positions within the Council, and shall not be used in a humiliating manner only to have the constitution of the Management Committee structure complete for the sake of consolidating the entire formation of that structure.”According to the statement the “so-called coalition Councillors” were denying the Swapo Councillors the opportunity to “influence the development planning process” at the town.When the Usakos Council was formally constituted for a second time early last month, after the first attempt failed, the Swapo Councillors again refused to nominate a colleague to the Deputy Mayor position.Instead, Hermann nominated Phillemon Nauseb of the UDF.