Suspended Landless People’s Movement Keetmanshoop local authority councillor Charlcyta Cooper has pleaded with the party’s leadership to consider hearing her side of the story, saying if given the chance, she will spill the beans.
The party last week withdrew Cooper, who at the time was the town’s deputy mayor, with immediate effect.
Earlier this month, party leader Bernadus Swartbooi accused Cooper of betrayal, labelling her “careless and intellectually fatigued”.
Cooper became the fourth councillor to be recalled by the party, following the recalls earlier this year of Sydney Skakana, Willie Kisting and Maree Smit from the same local authority.
LPM spokesperson Eneas Emvula yesterday said they have not received any letter from Cooper and can only respond when they are in possession of her communication.
“Besides that, the political action committee is due to meet, and it is the appropriate platform. She should have addressed her alleged letter of pleading,” he said.
Cooper, in a letter seen by New Era to the party leadership yesterday, said “the party should consider hearing my side of the story – incidence by incidence – because I also have a lot of grievances to share with the high office if I am one day accorded an opportunity to do so”.
She said most of her grievances might improve the way the party is currently doing things.
“I am submitting it to you that I am loyal member of the party and that can be proven by going back to the support I have given the party – even when it was still an infant,” Cooper added.
Cooper said if she was willing to put everything on the line to be a part of LPM when no one was certain of its success, why would she feel the need to abandon the party now that it is successful and she is reaping the benefits of its success.
“I fully respect the manifesto and ideology of the party, which is why, at times, I try to correct their members when I am of the opinion that the decision they are about to take will bring about negative effects to our beloved party,” she said.
“It was also my wrong opinion that the party promotes differing opinions, provided such differences are justified with good reasoning and maybe I should apologise for trying to share my thoughts with other members in meetings,” she added.
Cooper said she never attempted to undermine the party’s goals or manifesto, and she also does not have such intentions.
“I am disturbed by fellow members who choose to lie to the high office; at times I differ with them because I feel it’s not fair that critical information, which could help high office make informed decisions, is withheld from you,” she wrote.
She said the party has received minutes of all council meetings, which shows most issues that she raised with reasons as to why she raised them, but she has reason to believe that when feedback is given, it is always given one-sided.
“If your letter specified the exact incidents where I betrayed the party, it would have been easy for me to present my case in detail,” she said.
“I submit to you that I wish to stay in council to offer services to the community, which trusted our party with power. I further wish to inform the party that I have visible successful projects from my appointment, and I have a lot of pending development projects I wish to conclude for the interest of the party and the community,” said Cooper.