KEETMANSHOOP — After functioning without a management committee for more than six months, the Lüderitz Town Council elected a new management committee last week.

Magistrate Adelinu Hailonga swore them in after judge Herold Geier recently set aside the results of the previous election of 1 December 2020, declaring the said results null and void. The presiding officer previously admitted his mistake when he swore in seven instead of five councillors last year as members of the management committee as prescribed by law. He then applied to the High Court for the 2020 election results to be set aside. 

Delivering her inauguration speech, chairperson Albertina Ndeshikeya expressed her gratitude towards her fellow councillors for placing trust in her by electing her as chairperson. 

‘’Openness and unity will take us to great heights, hence the need to put our political differences aside and work together as a team striving to deliver the best of services for the residents of Lüderitz,’’ she said.

Also speaking during the ceremony, mayor Anna Marie Hartzenberg raised the concern that it has been a long, frustrating six months with no management committee in place. 

“It is now, more than ever, time to turn the page of politics to that of the developmental agenda for the best of our community,’’ she emphasised. 

Hartzenberg congratulated the members of the new management committee and said council should now divert their energy and competencies to a spirit of teamwork, planning and executing relevant activities as a means to enhance and promote the socio-economic circumstances of those who voted for them.

‘’We know that there are and will always be big challenges ahead of us, but it is my belief that as long as we work together as a team, there will be no challenge that we will not be able to overcome,’’ said the mayor. 

The newly elected management committee comprises; Albertina Ndeshikeya, chairperson (Independent Patriots for Change), Benjamin McKay (Popular Democratic Movement), Phillipus Balhao (Independent Patriots for Change), Johannes Abraham and Brigitte Fredericks (Swapo, additional committee member). The positions for mayor (Anna Marie Hartzenberg) and deputy mayor (Josephine Heita) remain unchanged.

– sklukowski@nepc.com.na