… suspended councillors speak out
WINDHOEK – The war of words continues within the Okahandja Town Council after three members of the management committee were removed from their positions following a vote of no-confidence passed last week at the town.
Vallery Aron, former chairperson of the managing committee, Andries Bezuidenhout and Computer Mieze were given their marching orders after a series of accusations were levelled against them ranging from abuse of power and conflict of interest to self-enrichment.
Mieze is now accusing his fellow councillors of ulterior motives for removing them from the management committee, saying they do not want to address the real problems hampering the development of the beleaguered town, which has come under fire for all the wrong reasons. Aron declined to comment on the issue.
Mieze said that at a meeting on July 22 the three ousted from the management committee asked leave to address needs of the residents including erven allocation, dirt piling up in the town, the rapid growing population which outstrips supply of municipal services such as electricity and water, provision of financial statements for the municipality and discussions on drawing up a strategic plan for the town.
But the other councillors pushed for a motion that was apparently not on the agenda in order to remove them. “Who tabled that motion?” he asked. Mieze, Aron and Bezuidenhout walked out while the rest of the councillors continued with the meeting in their absence.
According to Mieze, Okahandja is bombarded with so many problems. At the Five Rand settlement only four taps are functional out of 14 taps installed, main streetlights do not work, animals are roaming the town in search of grazing, and the municipality is yet to produce a financial statement or a strategic plan for the town.
Independent sources in the town council have however dismissed Mieze’s claims of not being aware of the motion, saying the three besieged councillors were aware of the motion of no confidence tabled against them but made deliberate excuses not to attend the meetings.
The letter for the motion was handed to the chief executive officer Frans Enkali’s office on July 10, where all councillors were given the agenda on July 22 in advance of the meeting to take place on July 25.
However, the three councillors apparently made excuses not to attend, leading to several meeting postponements until July 31 when the council could ultimately form a quorum with Okahandja Deputy Mayor, Paulina Kuyandeka, Bezuidenhout, Frederick Shimanda and Estha Garoes.
At the meeting, Enkali read out the motion of no confidence and the councillors in question were given 14 days to oppose it, but apparently failed to do so. Bezuidenhout is said to have brought a letter to oppose the motion at their next sitting on August 21, which passed the deadline.
In the letter, seen by New Era, Bezuidenhout complained of the disrespectful treatment by Enkali, claiming that the CEO deliberately withheld information from him, which made it difficult for him to fully participate in the July 31 meeting. “I see this treatment to sideline me as a violation of my rights and those who elected me to serve in the council,” he wrote, adding that he had observed that the CEO had “become a councillor due to his behaviour”.
But Enkali dismissed the claims saying that it seems that some councillors were not familiar with the council act and should know what they are talking about. He said that he had no power over councillors and had no decision-making powers apart from giving advice and direction. He added that some people were also misrepresenting facts in that the said councillors were ousted, while they were only removed from the management committee and were eligible for re-election in the next term.
By Magreth Nunuhe