STUDENT leaders from various institutions of higher learning have called on the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) president Ester Simon to step down.
The student representatives made the call during a media briefing on Thursday in Windhoek. They said Simon has not been effective in her Nanso role since her appointment to the economic panel by president Hage Geingob recently.
The group said Simon has become more of a political representative than a student leader.
Geingob appointed 22 people to the panel, which includes academics and private sector executives, to assist with the revival of the economy.
Nanso vice president Bernard Kavavu at the media briefing said they refuse to be used by politicians, especially within the 2019 election year.
“We feel that the Nanso president is captured, she is appointed as an economic advisor. There is no role for her on the panel and she did not even inform the organisation what her role is,” Kavavu stressed.
A student leader at the International University of Management (IUM) Simon Amunime demanded that Simon makes it clear who she wants to serve.
“It’s very important that she comes out clear as to where her interests are, is it the president or the students?”Amunime asked.
Amunime, together with other student representatives from Unam, IUM, Triumphant College, Monitronic Success College, Lingua and the National Institute of Technology, also boycotted a forum in organised by Nanso in Windhoek yesterday.
The forum, which was aimed at addressing student funding issues, was attended by higher education minister Idah Kandjii-Murangi and representatives from the Namibia Student Financial Assistance Fund.
“The organisation is not for sale. Nanso is for students and it will remain as such, that activity (economic forum) was not for students but for politicians,” Amunime said.
When approached for comment, Simon refused to comment and directed questions to Nanso secretary general Simon Taapopi.
Taapopi was unreachable for comment.
Nanso secretary for education, training and research Ephraim Ndalipo Paulus yesterday told that everyone had been invited to the forum.
He said since Simon was elected into the leadership of Nanso in 2017, there was a group trying to cause division.
“We do not know what their intentions are, but we are clear that we want to represent the students. Therefore, those members that are trying to destroy the leadership of Simon are sour people.”
He added that Simon is the legitimate president and cannot be removed without proper procedures.
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