WALVIS BAY – Tempers flared dramatically that within five minutes of an ordinary Walvis council meeting, insults and racial slurs flew from left to right, culminating in a pandemonium.
The events, during which the police had to be called in to restore calm and order, unfolded on Tuesday evening.
For some time now, the council has been struggling to reach consensus, and has been embroiled in conflicts since the controversial appointment of the RedForce debt-collecting agency.
Additionally, there has been discord over the appointment of David Uushona as the acting CEO until August.
As a result, the council sought intervention from their line ministry last week, as attempts by Erongo governor Neville Andre have been ignored.
Councillors Rayn Gordon, Ephraim Shozi, Albertina Nkoshi and Paulus Kauhondamwa have not been agreeing with the rest of the councillors, and have been at each other’s throats over the issues.
In a desperate bid to reach consensus on the dragging issues, the councillors met with the urban development ministry to restore their ailing working relationship.
However, the alleged bypassing of urban and rural development minister Erastus Uutoni’s instructions by the council has only added fuel to the inferno that has engulfed the council, with councillors squaring off during the council meeting on Tuesday.
“After our last discussion with the governor and the minister to address things procedurally, things were addressed, since we are just adopting the agenda,” Gordon screamed.
He said the budget was not discussed with the community, but it is being adopted.
“Where do we stand, and what’s guiding us? We have a standing resolution. I’m coming back to the appointment with Uushona. We have a standing resolution that says only when we appoint a general manager will a manager be appointed, yet we have a manager acting [as CEO],” he said.
Kauhondamwa also questioned why the minister’s advice was ignored.
“We had meetings with the government, and got clear instructions. Are we following them or not? Let us pronounce ourselves on that before we can continue with the meeting,” he said.
It was at this point that Nkoshi entered the fray, accusing mayor Trevino Forbes of ruling with an iron fist.
“You’re an elected councillor – not a dictator. We all have a say. Are you ignoring what the minister told us? This is where we make rules. I won’t sit down,” she said.
However, Forbes refused to entertain the questions, while continuously calling for order.
“According to the standing rules of council, we can only allow questions about matters that are on the agenda. We must stick to the agenda,” he said.
To this, a fuming Shozi demanded to know why his pre-submitted questions were on the agenda.
“I would never engage a CEO who was illegally appointed,” he declared.
Things hit a new low when councillor Ronald Bramwell asked Shozi to take a seat, to which Shozi retorted: “Be careful, white man”.
The chaos had reached fever pitch, and the police were called to remove Shozi from the chambers.
Meanwhile, Gordon then told the council that he would not be part of the charade, and recused himself from the meeting.
Eventually, all three Swapo councillors left the council meeting.
Metcalfe quits
As if this were not enough, the council’s legal representative, Advocate Richard Metcalfe, has terminated his services with the municipality, the lawyer confirmed yesterday.
“Our firm cannot continue to represent a client of your ilk, who refuses to comply with the provisions of the Local Authorities Act, the Public Procurement Act 15 of 2015, its own credit control policy and water regulations. We hereby terminate all services to the municipality,” Metcalfe dropped the bombshell.
The law firm was appointed in June this year to investigate the alleged irregularities of the debt-collecting tender that was awarded to RedForce Debt.
During his interim investigation, Metcalfe revealed that Walvis Bay had allegedly paid about N$17 million to RedForce within the first nine months after inking their agreement.
“On 22 September last year, the day on which the contract came into force, the debt collector additionally received N$313 000 and over N$1 million on 13 October 2023, without collecting a cent on behalf of the council,” Metcalfe found.
(Walvis)