Uutoni summons ‘truant’ City councillors
Jemima BeukesWindhoek
The minister of urban and rural development Erastus Uutoni has summoned City of Windhoek councillors for an urgent caucus today, amid bickering over positions on the highly influential management committee.Namibian Sun has seen a letter authored by Uutoni in which he calls for the “urgent consultative meeting”.
The minister underscored that all 15 councillors should be present.
It is understood that Uutoni was recently on the verge of dissolving the council due to the political fights that persist – at the expense of service delivery to the estimated 300 000 residents of Windhoek.
Uutoni was reportedly talked out of this plan by the ministry’s senior management, albeit temporarily.
He yesterday confirmed that he will sit down with the councillors, but declined to comment on speculations that he is planning to dissolve the council amid the growing tension.
“Let’s just wait until we have had the meeting, then we can talk afterwards,” he said.
Absolute power
The five management committee seats are currently occupied by only three elected members - all Swapo councillors. The committee is meant to be comprised of five members, but since three members make up a quorum, presiding officer Jozane Klazen noted the Swapo councillors as duly elected.
This has caused a furore amongst the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and Affirmative Repositioning (AR) councillors, who are all against what they call ‘absolute power’.
LPM councillor Ivan Skrywer said they will attend the meeting to hear what the minister has to say; however, their position remains and they will not change their minds about the ideal composition of the management committee.
“As far as we are concerned, our stance is that we are not in support of a management committee that is run by one party. I know how difficult it is to be in a management committee ruled by one party. Before you make a contribution, people are already going for a vote,” he said.
Consensus politics
In the same vein, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) wants the five City of Windhoek management committee seats to be shared equally between all five political parties represented on the council.
IPC national general secretary Christine /Aochomus recently called for interventions to address the current deadlock, adding that this would ensure that each party that has been empowered by the electorate is represented on the management committee.
“Consensus politics is vital for the prosperity and progress of the City of Windhoek. It is my conviction that by working together towards shared goals, rather than engaging in divisive battles, we can achieve far more for the residents of Windhoek,” she said.
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The minister of urban and rural development Erastus Uutoni has summoned City of Windhoek councillors for an urgent caucus today, amid bickering over positions on the highly influential management committee.Namibian Sun has seen a letter authored by Uutoni in which he calls for the “urgent consultative meeting”.
The minister underscored that all 15 councillors should be present.
It is understood that Uutoni was recently on the verge of dissolving the council due to the political fights that persist – at the expense of service delivery to the estimated 300 000 residents of Windhoek.
Uutoni was reportedly talked out of this plan by the ministry’s senior management, albeit temporarily.
He yesterday confirmed that he will sit down with the councillors, but declined to comment on speculations that he is planning to dissolve the council amid the growing tension.
“Let’s just wait until we have had the meeting, then we can talk afterwards,” he said.
Absolute power
The five management committee seats are currently occupied by only three elected members - all Swapo councillors. The committee is meant to be comprised of five members, but since three members make up a quorum, presiding officer Jozane Klazen noted the Swapo councillors as duly elected.
This has caused a furore amongst the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and Affirmative Repositioning (AR) councillors, who are all against what they call ‘absolute power’.
LPM councillor Ivan Skrywer said they will attend the meeting to hear what the minister has to say; however, their position remains and they will not change their minds about the ideal composition of the management committee.
“As far as we are concerned, our stance is that we are not in support of a management committee that is run by one party. I know how difficult it is to be in a management committee ruled by one party. Before you make a contribution, people are already going for a vote,” he said.
Consensus politics
In the same vein, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) wants the five City of Windhoek management committee seats to be shared equally between all five political parties represented on the council.
IPC national general secretary Christine /Aochomus recently called for interventions to address the current deadlock, adding that this would ensure that each party that has been empowered by the electorate is represented on the management committee.
“Consensus politics is vital for the prosperity and progress of the City of Windhoek. It is my conviction that by working together towards shared goals, rather than engaging in divisive battles, we can achieve far more for the residents of Windhoek,” she said.
[email protected]
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