Kuzeeko Tjitemisa
The Landless People’s Movement has been rocked by a spate of resignations, with the latest being that of local authority councillor for Mariental Frensis Gawases, who tendered her resignation with immediate effect late last week.
Gawases, who at the time of her resignation was chairperson of the Mariental Town Council’s management committee, became the second councillor this year to tender her resignation after councillor Adam Kuhlman’s resignation in March this year.
She also resigned from the party.
Gawases and Kuhlman were sworn in as councillors in March last year, following the recall by the party of councillors Daniël Gariseb and Roggeta Haak for allegedly being in cahoots with the Swapo leadership in the town.
Yesterday, Gawases declined to divulge any information regarding her resignation, and directed this reporter’s enquiries to the “big office.”
When contacted, LPM spokesperson Eneas Emvula confirmed Gawases’ resignation, but was quick to point out that her resignation has not yet been approved.
Also, Mariental
municipality CEO Paulus Nghiwilepo confirmed receiving Gawases’ resignation, saying that it was tendered last week.
LMP made history in 2019 when it ousted the governing Swapo from the //Kharas and Hardap regions following its victory in the local and regional councils’ elections that year.
However, the party has been rocked by recalls and resignations. Recently, they withdrew Charlcyta Cooper from the Keetmanshoop local authority with immediate effect.
Cooper became the fourth councillor to be recalled by the party, following the recalls earlier of Sydney Skakana, Willie Kisting and Maree Smit from the same local authority.
At the time, party leader Bernadus Swartbooi accused Cooper of betrayal, labelling her “careless and intellectually fatigued”, while Skakana, Kisting and Smit were accused of having defied party directives not to support a decision to disconnect the water supply of residents.
Swartbooi earlier this year vowed to recall non-performing councillors, and those not living up to their mandate.
“We cannot wait for five years to correct a problem. We do so immediately and swiftly, without throwing away those councillors,” he said while addressing journalists in January this year.
Swartbooi said the question to be asked by voters should not be whether the LPM is a stable party, but rather if the relationship between voters and the party is stable.
“Some councillors in the Keetmanshoop local authority have been unable to overcome key challenges that need to be addressed correctly,” he noted.
He said those challenges include the income stream, administration and development of the southern town. The party leader further explained that the recall was an internal party issue.
- ktjitemisa@nepc.com.na