EDITORIAL: Non-resident councillors must be removed
A legal opinion dated January 2021 by Attorney-General Festus Mbandeka to urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni underscored the mandatory legal imperative to remove councillors who do not physically reside within their elected local authority for a specified period.
Mbandeka was emphatic in his submission, saying removing such councillors was 'absolute' and not 'discretionary'. He added that the line minister, in fact, has recourse to effect the removal of non-resident councillors, and “does not have to wait for a political party” to withdraw its member.
His submission has so far fallen on deaf ears. Swapo councillor at Ongwediva, Fabiam George, who got a full-time job in Okakarara, remains firmly in his seat, and so will Swapo’s Omuthiya mayor Johannes Ndeutepo, who started a new CEO job in Windhoek yesterday.
This is not just about what the law says. It’s also about conscience and being principled as a leader.
Councillors’ duties do not begin and end with perusing minutes and agenda items in a meeting. It’s also about being with people on the ground, listening to them and observing their conditions on a daily basis. This surely cannot happen virtually, as Ndeutepo suggested for his inclusion in council meetings.
This is what Swapo leaders have reduced the once great party to. The well-being of individuals outweighs that of the people they serve. This behaviour is enabled by the party’s top leaders, who hold no one accountable as long as the person concerned is loyal to them. What is the point of having offices such as that of the attorney-general if their legal counsel can simply be ignored willy-nilly?
Mbandeka was emphatic in his submission, saying removing such councillors was 'absolute' and not 'discretionary'. He added that the line minister, in fact, has recourse to effect the removal of non-resident councillors, and “does not have to wait for a political party” to withdraw its member.
His submission has so far fallen on deaf ears. Swapo councillor at Ongwediva, Fabiam George, who got a full-time job in Okakarara, remains firmly in his seat, and so will Swapo’s Omuthiya mayor Johannes Ndeutepo, who started a new CEO job in Windhoek yesterday.
This is not just about what the law says. It’s also about conscience and being principled as a leader.
Councillors’ duties do not begin and end with perusing minutes and agenda items in a meeting. It’s also about being with people on the ground, listening to them and observing their conditions on a daily basis. This surely cannot happen virtually, as Ndeutepo suggested for his inclusion in council meetings.
This is what Swapo leaders have reduced the once great party to. The well-being of individuals outweighs that of the people they serve. This behaviour is enabled by the party’s top leaders, who hold no one accountable as long as the person concerned is loyal to them. What is the point of having offices such as that of the attorney-general if their legal counsel can simply be ignored willy-nilly?
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