WINDHOEK – The Indigenous Peoples’ Forum (IPBF) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chrisch Siririka, dismissed claims of trouble brewing at IPBF.
Siririka, speaking to New Era last week, claimed there are “fly by night people” who want to use the IPBF for personal gain, adding that talks of IPBF board members being suspended were mere rumours.
“Investigations revealed that three or four people wanted to use IPBF to achieve their own political agendas but they failed. [The] members of the forum know these individuals. I have never been suspended as the CEO or coordinator of the forum because no one has the right to suspend me from day one up to now. They could not even suspend the IPBF chairman, because the chairman was not appointed by them,” said Siririka.
According to Siririka there are individuals who want to unseat the leadership of IPBF. “They are not members of the IPBF, they have never been members but they wanted to take their own political agendas into the forum,” he said.
Responding to questions on the IPBF’s finances Siririka said: “The financial report has been documented and is available in black and white, it has been publicised. We do not need to lie, the government stopped funding IPBF a long, long time ago, we know we do not have the money.”
The CEO did not disclose much on the allegations that IPBF owes TransNamib money other than saying an agreement exists between TransNamib and IPBF. “No one owes anybody money, it is a business agreement, we are following the agreement. Whatever we have with TransNamib is between TransNamib and IPBF – we had good meetings about how we can sort it out,” added Siririka.
But the IPBF CEO responded with surprise on issues relating to fights within the IPBF, saying IPBF members never had fights. “We do not fight, perhaps people must understand that we are not a political organisation. We are business people who came together, to represent the masses of this country, we represent [people] in business, we never fought on any subject at IPBF,” said Siririka. He said members demand justice, services and benefits and the forum is developing business incentives for its members.
By John Travolter Matali