Nuusita Ashipala
Ongwediva-A group of PDM (Popular Democratic Movement) youths are vying to oust fellow youths and women league leaders from their positions, citing their alleged incompetence to develop youth league structures nationally and at the regional level.
A letter addressed to the party president and management calls for a vote of no confidence against its party youth league leader Benson Katjiriova, as well as the women’s league secretary Rosa Tjeundo.
The letter is authored by the Omusati Regional PDM Youth League leader Immanuel Shikongo.
“We are asking the secretary of the party to look at our request of a vote of no-confidence in the two leaders, plus their co-elected leaders, in order for the wings to organize the congress to elect capable leaders,” he stated.
Sources in the party claim about 10 regions are rallying behind the motion of no confidence against its two leaders.
New Era understands the motion of no confidence was part of the agenda of the party management meeting that took place on Monday.
However, PDM’s secretary general Immanuel Ngaringombe could not be reached to give the outcome of the no-confidence motion, and if indeed it was part of the agenda.
Katjiriova denied the allegations, saying the motion is meant to discredit him ahead of the upcoming congress in 2018.
Katjiriova said he is not going to dwell on what he has and has not done, maintaining that the author of the letter has an agenda to push through “own personal interests”.
“Only time will tell. We have the evidence of what the youth league has achieved,” said Katjiriova.
Similarly, Tjeundo said the allegations made in the letter are unfounded.
According to Tjeundo, the author of the letter is being used by individuals who are interested in the position.
“This letter will not distract us, it is an encouragement to work harder and he should do the same. In fact, he has partly written that letter to himself because he is also in the regional leadership structure of the party,” said Tjeundo.
According to Tjeundo, since taking office in 2015, her office has been hard at work to mobilise women into election positions.
“Today we have two women in parliament and several women in local authority councils,” said Tjeundo.
According to Shikongo, the two wings are “dead and inactive” and have failed to conduct meetings for the past two years.
He further said the head of wings were shoved back into their positions despite their being incompetent.
“Therefore, we can’t continue letting the two important organs of the party be dead, because this will cause us a loss in the national elections,” stressed Shikongo.