2016-11-11Staff Report 2 Windhoek- All good things come to an end, including mayors’ terms in office. The same holds true for youthful Muesee Kazapua of City of Windhoek, whose tenure comes to an end in November. The director for regional and local government in the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, Lameck Uyepa, confirmed that the positions of all mayors, as well as council management committees, would be up for grabs as of next month. “The laws provide that the tenure of the office of mayors is 12 months, so yes, their term of office – depending on the day they had elections last year – comes to an end in most of cases by December,” he said. Uyepa says incumbent office-bearers will be eligible to stand again for re-election. However, the term of office for chairpersons of regional councils comes to an end after two years in office. Kazapua told New Era yesterday that Windhoek Municipality has set aside December 2 as the date for the internal elections. The current City of Windhoek leadership consists of Kazapua as mayor, deputised by Fransina Kahungu, while the Management Committee consists of committee chairperson Mathew Amadhila, Councillor Teckla Uwanga, Councillor Mathilde Ukeva, Councillor Immanuel Paulus and Councillor Moses Shiikwa. Unconfirmed reports have it that there are some Swapo members who feel that since he served two consecutive term as mayor,Kazapua should step down and be replaced by his deputy, Kahungu. Kazapua was elected unopposed last year as the mayor of Windhoek, replacing Agnes Kafula who joined parliament earlier this year. Matheus Shikongo was the longest-serving mayor and served from 2000 to 2010. The first mayor of Windhoek in an independent Namibia, Björn von Finckenstein, served from 1990 to 1992 and also from 1994 to 1999, while Elaine Trepper served from 2010 to 2012, followed by Agnes Kafula, who served from 2012 to 2014. 2016-11-11Staff Report 2
