By Kuvee Kangueehi
Gobabis
The Omaheke Swapo Party Regional Coordinator, Festus Ueitele, was duly re-elected on Saturday at a party regional conference in Gobabis. Ueitele was unopposed.
Philip Katamelo and Job Munjaro were elected as treasurer, and information and mobilisation officer, respectively, after they also emerged sole nominees for the two positions.
The conference also nominated 10 delegates to the party congress next month, as well as four nominees for the party’s Central Committee.
The regional structure nominated two candidates for the two top positions in the party (president and vice president) but did not disclose their names.
The new executive, in a closed-door meeting with leaders assigned to the region, welcomed President Sam Nujoma’s decision to step down and threw their support behind President Hifikepunye Pohamba as the next party president. They also identified their candidate for the vice presidency post.
The endorsement by the Omaheke Regional Executive follows a resolution by the Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) last weekend to back Pohamba for presidency.
The Omaheke Regional Executive consists of Ueitele, Katamelo, Munjaro and seven district executive committee members.
The build-up to the regional conference was not smooth sailing, as delegates from Swapo Party Women’s Council (SPWC), Swapo Party Elders’ Council (SPEC) and Otjinene district did not make it to the conference.
The SPWC delegation to the conference was nullified by the party secretariat after it was discovered that proper procedures were not followed in electing delegates at the various district conferences.
A party member said SPWC failed to involve all party members at section and branch level and the SPWC delegates appeared to have been hand-picked and thus the district conference was nullified.
The exclusion of SPWC also ruled out Nono Tjiueza who was expected to contest the position of regional coordinator.
The delegation from Otjinene simply stayed away and no explanation was given for their absence. This is despite the fact that Ueitele last week visited the area to ensure that they hold a district conference to elect delegates to the conference.
An issue that was raised at Otjinene was the inclusion of suspended District Secretary for Youth, Salomon Hepundjua, as a delegate to the conference.
Hepundjua was suspended last year on charges of misappropriating funds and was instructed to distance himself from all party activities until further notice.
The troublesome constituency of Otjombinde had delegates at the conference after the district held its restructuring process two weeks ago.
Mbanderu infighting at Otjombinde has filtered into the party structures. The latest restructuring had its fair share of problems as party members aligned to Chief Munjuku Nguvauva boycotted the exercise leaving Erastus Kahuure’s sympathisers to take all positions in the district.
The Swapo Party Omaheke Regional Conference started on Friday afternoon and ended on Saturday evening and was officially opened by Pohamba Shifeta, one of the national leaders assigned to the region.
In his opening remarks Shifeta called for party unity. He said all party members should work together irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds for the common good of the party and country.
The Minister of Lands, Jerry Ekandjo, Swapo Party Khomas Regional Coordinator, Michael Mwinga, deputy Minister of Education, Becky Ndjoze-Ojo, deputy Minister of Fisheries, Killus Nguvauva, and NUNW leader David Namalenga, also attended the conference.