Urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni insisted yesterday that he was still consulting on what steps to take as tension reached boiling point at the embattled Grootfontein municipality, where a power struggle has raged for months.

The battle for control of the Grootfontein municipality spiralled out of control last week after an alleged special council meeting convened on Thursday resolved to suspend the municipality’s CEO, Kisco Sinvula.

He was allegedly suspended over the procedure used to appoint a law firm to represent the council.

“I am aware of the infighting at the municipality. I am still engaging all parties involved before deciding what action to take,” Uutoni told New Era briefly yesterday upon enquiry.  

Sinvula, in a memo this week to staff and the media, countered his suspension. He maintained that he is still the CEO, as the purported special council meeting did not meet the quorum to enforce his suspension.

His memo led to Sarie Hengari, who was appointed as the acting CEO, writing to the engaged security company and instructing them to deploy extra security personnel to ensure that Sinvula does not enter the building. 

“Should Sinvula enter the building by force, a case of trespassing should be opened with the police,” Hengari said in the letter dated 28 March to Rubicon Security Services. 

Three weeks ago, Uutoni called on Grootfontein councillors to stop fighting among themselves, saying they should wait for God to give them the positions they crave.  

“You made positions your number one priority. Positions should come on their own. Don’t fight over it. If you are going to be mayor, God has already given it to you. It will come; don’t force it,” he advised. 

The infighting is largely attributed to factions within Swapo.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Hengari referred all media queries to the municipality’s spokesperson, whose phone went unanswered.

Sinvula yesterday said he did not bother to go to work as security officials were deployed to prevent him from entering the building. However, he maintained that his suspension was illegal, and that proper procedures were not followed. 

Meanwhile, Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) secretary general Manuel Ngaringombe yesterday blamed the ruling party for the infighting that has led to ineffective service delivery at the town, saying it is being caused by the unrelenting wrangling between Swapo councillors.

“Swapo wants the municipality to be rendered ineffective for reasons only known to them,” he stated. Swapo has four seats on the council, while the Independent Patriots for Change, PDM, and the United Democratic Front each have one seat.

Ngaringombe said he had written to Sinvula in February, urging him as an accounting officer to facilitate the election of office-bearers without further delay. 

He said he told Sinvula that his party would not be at liberty to accept any negative outcome resulting from the delaying of elections of the Grootfontein council.  

There was no immediate response from the ruling party yesterday.

Earlier this month, some Grootfontein residents raised their concerns about ongoing Swapo infighting, saying it is affecting service delivery. 

Residents regularly bombard the municipality’s Facebook page with complaints and requests to improve roads, sanitation and to make the town look cleaner. 

Some of the gripes are that council has not been able to hold meetings as members are failing to reach a quorum, while other councillors are deliberately absent without valid reasons.

The unresolved internal Swapo battles also culminated in the suspensions of the town’s newly sworn-in mayor and other district executive committee members over allegations of voting for the opposition to ascend to the chairpersonship of the town’s management committee.

 At the centre of the storm is Talitha Garises (66), who served as mayor for less than a week before she was suspended and recalled some two weeks ago by the Swapo district executive committee. 

Garises, who was sworn in as Grootfontein mayor on 17 February, faced suspension along with other party cadres for allegedly supporting members of the opposition for management committee positions. 

ktjitemisa@nepc.com.na