2018-07-03Staff Report 2 John Muyamba RUNDU – The Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso) leadership in Kavango East has nullified the regional conference held at Rundu last week, saying it was illegal. The meeting was organised by the Nanso executive committee and its president Ester Simon, as well as by the secretary general Simon Taapopi. “We hereby nullify the regional conference held at Rundu Secondary School,” said Ervin Likoro in a press statement released on Saturday. Likoro is Nanso’s secretary for information, communication and technology for Kavango East branch. He said that the “legitimately” regional leaders who were in power before the 2017 congress, and of which their term has not yet expired, were not informed of the restructuring, thus it was quite disturbing to note that the national executive committee managed to restructure seven schools in the Kavongo East Region, which according to Likoro is not in line with article 15. 5 of the organisation’s constitution. “Article 15.5 clearly states that members of the organisation at any educational institutions have the right to form a branch, subject to approval by the regional executive committee in consultation with the national executive committee,” he said. Likoro claims Simon and Taapopi held a meeting while the institutions of higher learning were on holiday. He said it was clear that the NEC does not have the interest of students from institutions of higher learning at heart. “We therefore would like to make it publicly clear and request the educational stakeholders not to have educational discussions with this group, since they are not clear of what they want to achieve in Nanso. Furthermore, the assigned leaders to Kavango East were not informed nor consulted on the planned regional conference. Emma Ganuses, the deputy secretary general, was also not present to witness and facilitate the process,” he noted. Likoro said there is a need for the regional conference to deliberate on issues pertaining to education in the region and country at large, which the “illegitimate” delegate and conference didn’t take into consideration, adding that no resolutions were adopted that strive to solve student matters in the region. Simon was not reachable for comment. 2018-07-03Staff Report 2
