Walvis Bay residents association criticised for all-white candidates

Deputy minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture Dino Ballotti has criticised a Walvis Bay residents association for its lack of racial diversity, describing this as “apartheid thinking”.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Ballotti says electing white candidates only does not reflect Namibia’s reality nor contribute to nation building.
“I say this as a white Namibian: This is apartheid thinking and I condemn it in its entirety,” his post reads.

The Joint Walvis Bay Residents Association (JWBRA), chaired by Sharon Roodt, has campaigned on promises to fight for service delivery, fair business regulations and better living conditions for all, with the tagline ‘long-time residents who are accountable only to you’.

Roodt yesterday said she does not want to talk to The Namibian when contacted for comment yesterday.

According to the association’s Facebook page, its goals include providing feedback without community members having to keep asking for it, fighting for smart budgeting and internal audits, as well as pushing for regular maintenance and transparent infrastructure plans.

A cellphone number provided on the association’s Facebook platform was not reachable yesterday.
“Their tagline says ‘accountable only to you’. My question is: Who is the ‘you?’ The 1.8% of whites?” Ballotti asks.

When the association was questioned by members of the public on its social media platform on whether it is working towards building a council that reflects the racial and cultural make-up of Walvis Bay, it responded that it had tried, noting “low turnout” at its public meeting at Naraville, and “a one-person turnout at Kuisebmond”.

“Sadly, some previous committee members of colour chose to represent other political parties,” the association says on Facebook.

The JWBRA’s website says the association is “a community volunteer group whose mission is to empower and support residents of Walvis Bay to become active and engaged members of the community with the aim of creating opportunities for residents to come together, share their ideas and concerns”.

Political analyst Sakaria Johannes says the association’s responses are simply in defence of itself.

“How many people of colour did they invite? It means they only invited white people,” he says.

Sakaria says it is questionable for an all-white association to exist in a multi-racial community.

“White people are not even the majority, so only fellow white people would vote for them,” he says.
Johannes suggests that the Electoral Commission of Namibia investigate the matter.

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