Africa-Press – Namibia. AFTER the conclusion of dramatic regional council and local authority elections which ushered in new leaders in local government, this time last year many people couldn’t wait for 2021 to kick off to witness the magic of speedy service delivery unfold before their eyes at various local authorities under the shiny ‘progressive forces’.
The biggest prospect for change was in the Windhoek City Council, which was now under the guidance of a coalition of ‘progressive forces’ led by Affirmative Repositioning movement activist Job Amupanda – an academic for a mayor – who promised to correct the wrongs and root out alleged corruption perpetrated by the previous administration.
Fast forward to December 2021, and it is safe to say that the more things changed at local government level, the more they stayed the same. RESTRAINED!
Instead of fulfilling the promises made, the ‘progressive forces’ leadership spent a good part of the year in regressive mode, mostly engaged in squabbles over who deserved to occupy which position on the council.
As a result, the most promising leadership of the City of Windhoek failed in all spheres and recorded minimal achievements to account to residents. No land, no houses, no reduced tariffs and no CEO. At the end of his tenure, Amupanda admitted “there was nothing to account” in his refusal to present a customary mayoral report.
Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) leader Panduleni Itula was arguably the most talked about political leader, as he managed to single- handedly annoy the entire country while busy reciting articles.
Itula was also credited for the deepening discord among the ‘progressive forces’ by ‘restraining’ IPC councillors from performing their duties when it mattered most.
Itula was, however, unapologetic about it. Elsewhere and away from the city lights, the leadership at various local authorities and regional councils was also in turmoil.
Despite winning the majority of seats on the //Kharas and Hardap regional councils, the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) equally failed to get the ball rolling, after making hefty promises to transform the misfortunes of the two regions.
The //Kharas Regional Council remained without substantive leadership for more than four months, while politicians were bickering over positions on the council.
SLACKING PARLIAMENT At national level, politicians similarly failed to deliver services to the people this year. The National Assembly was postponed for the better part of the year, and as a result failed to complete most of the agenda items set for 2021.
National Assembly speaker Peter Katjavivi, who often talks about having introduced a digital strategy for parliament, found a reason – the coronavirus pandemic that upended everything – to continuously postpone parliamentary sessions, while other parliaments across the world embraced online meeting platforms.
As a result, parliamentarians did not debate and conclude the 12 bills which were introduced at the beginning of the year. Perhaps the biggest mistake, or deliberate omission, was a decision not to classify parliament as an institution that performs an essential service.
The Covid-19 reasons were however not considered when parliamentarians were needed to rubber-stamp the appointments of the director general and deputy director general of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), as well as the new chairperson and commissioners of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN).
Nonetheless, the little time that parliamentarians had, was mostly spent with politicians constantly hurling insults at each other and threatening each other with violence.
“I couldn’t slap him. I wish I slapped him. Had I slapped him, he wouldn’t be standing,” deputy finance minister Maureen Hinda-Mbuende said about a confrontation she had with the LPM’s Henny Seibeb.
Three or four opposition parties – the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM), LPM, Nudo and RDP – have been really vibrant and contributed immensely to various debates.
Namibians can, however, be forgiven if they forget that a political party called the Christian Democratic Voice occupies a seat in the National Assembly, with its representative, Gotthard Kandume, rarely opening his mouth during sessions.
Former youth and sport minister Jerry Ekandjo, who also rarely contributes to debates, refused to be forgotten, reviving his public image with controversial comments a discussion about the legalisation of same-sex marriages, abortion and dagga.
“Why should we allow gays here in Namibia? We cannot allow a male person to insert his penis into the anus of another man,” Ekandjo said.
It was also in 2021 that former defence minister Hafeni Peter Vilho’s career as a parliamentarian was cut short, when he resigned after he was exposed following a public spat with AR’s Job Amupanda.
Political commentator Graham Hopwood says the parliamentary programme was “quite disappointing” in 2021. Hopwood, however, commends opposition parties for keeping up lively debates and holding the executive to account. PDM leader McHenry Venaani agrees with Hopwood.
Deputy speaker Loide Kasingo, however, believes the quality of debate in parliament has drastically gone down owing to a failure by some parliamentarians to equip and empower themselves on pertinent topics discussed in parliament.
PARTY POLITICS President Hage Geingob and Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa also made the headlines in 2021 with their comments. Geingob faced heavy criticism after he told fellow Swapo members to ‘go to hell’ after they sluggishly failed to sing a song praising him.
“This is not Swapo … even when you are walking, you walk like you are finished. I came here and you are walking like you are dead. What is happening? Sing or don’t sing. You cannot even sing. No slogans,” Geingob said. For her part, Shaningwa refused to comment on the appointment of a convicted rape offender onto Swapo’s think tank.
“It is really below the belt that you want me to discuss bedroom stories. I am very much sorry. I was not there when Likoro allegedly raped someone. That is an insult. Never should you come back to me asking me about bedroom stories. I don’t discuss those types of things,” she said while asking The Namibian: “How many have you raped yourself?”. There was also a PDM youth league congress that failed to take off due to squabbles among delegates.
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