Ministry nullifies Okahandja mayor, deputy elections

OKAHANDJA town has had no mayor, deputy mayor and chairperson of the management committee since Wednesday last week, after the election of the incumbents was nullified because of alleged breach of procedure.

The Okahandja town councillors were on Wednesday called to a meeting by the deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, Priscilla Beukes, in Windhoek, where she nullified the election of the town’s mayor, deputy mayor and chairperson of the management committee.

The meeting was attended by five town councillors on the instruction of the Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, Charles Namoloh.

Namoloh had earlier questioned how the two political positions at the Okahandja Town Council were filled in December 2013.

It is alleged that the vacant positions of mayor and deputy mayor, were unprocedurally filled during the annual internal local authority election on 4 December 2013.

Councillor Valerie Aron earlier said after Okahandja mayor Dawid Uri-Kob resigned on 4 December 2013, his position was filled by the next person on the Swapo Party list – herself.

Aron was also nominated by other councillors to stand for mayor.

Consequently, she was elected mayor of Okahandja in place of Uri-Kob, from the position of chairperson of the Okahandja town management committee.

Niklaas Steenkamp was elected deputy mayor to replace Paulina Gomusab who was allegedly recalled from the town council by the Swapo Party on allegations that she held membership of two different political parties. Selma Itoolwa was elected an ordinary member of the management committee and Computer Kupaha Simson Mieze chairperson of the management committee.

Steenkamp and Itoolwa, both Swapo members, were sworn in as new members of the town council on 4 December 2013.

Andries Bezuidenhout of the United People’s Movement (UPM) was elected to the management committee, while Fredrick Shimanda of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Estha Garoes of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) were elected ordinary council members.

Beukes reportedly told the five councillors that since Uri-Kob resigned shortly before the swearing-in of councillors at the town, his position was supposed to be first gazetted in the Government Gazette.

Since Gomusab and Uri-Kob were Swapo councillors, their political party was obliged to write to the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development notifying the ministry of their resignations.

Swapo was also supposed to nominate successors to those positions, after which the Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development would inform the Okahandja chief executive officer, Frans Enkali, of the two political vacancies at the town council.

Only then could the town councillors contest the three vacant positions.

“For now we are all ordinary councillors,” said one of the councillors who preferred anonymity.

The three positions are expected to be filled next month once the correct procedures have been followed.

– Nampa