Africa-Press – Namibia. INDEPENDENT Patriots for Change (IPC) leader Panduleni Itula does not want Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement leader Job Amupanda being retained as mayor of Windhoek, because he shares council activities on social media, among other things.
Itula also feels Amupanda has failed to conduct himself as a coalition mayor, and has been too focused on promoting the AR’s image throughout the year.
Itula expressed these views on Amupanda’s mayorship in a WhatsApp message he shared with his party, following a meeting with other coalition partners last week.
Itula’s notes were shared with The Namibian by sources within the IPC. Last week’s meeting evaluated the coalition’s achievements, the challenges it encountered, and possible solutions.
The deployment of office-bearers to different positions on the council was also discussed. The positions, including that of mayor, deputy mayor, and chairperson of the management committee, were to be rotated among coalition partners.
However, Itula’s notes show that apart from the IPC, the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) had agreed to keep mayor Job Amupanda in this position.
Although the IPC indicated at that meeting that it would not suggest a candidate for the mayor position, Itula rejected the idea to keep Amupanda as mayor.
According to his notes, he felt Amupanda failed to conduct himself as a coalition mayor. Itula also disliked Amupanda’s habit of posting about council activities on social media. The posting, Itula felt, was Amupanda’s way of promoting the AR’s image.
“The AR presented a picture of being unperturbed as to who becomes the next mayor. The IPC, however, was categorically clear that the mayorship of the AR should end to allow other steam on the locomotive.
“The IPC is, however, not keen to field a representative at this stage,” Itula said. Despite other parties having reached consensus to retain Amupanda as mayor, Itula rejected this decision.
His notes show that he objected to the majority coalition consensus, because “the relationship among councillors, and especially the mayor and councillors, was problematic from the beginning”.
He told his party the coalition agreement would have to be amended to allow for the status quo to continue, and that the “conduct of the current mayor at times was unprocedural and contrary to the provisions of the law”.
He therefore requested coalition partners for more time to consult with his party before he communicates the IPC’s final decision in relation to new office-bearers to be elected next month.
Itula also briefed his party on the coalition’s position with regards to his proposal that the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) be allowed to join the coalition. He said other coalition leaders welcome this proposal.
According to his notes, coalition partners then proposed that a meeting including LPM representatives should be held to find solutions before the next swearing-in event next month.
The consensus from the coalition meeting therefore prompted him and the IPC’s national general secretary, Christine Aochamus, to write to LPM leader Bernadus Swartbooi “inviting them on board”.
“We trust we will have our brother and sister on board to contribute to the service delivery of our people in the city,” Itula said in his briefing to his party.
However, coalition partners on Tuesday berated Itula for allegedly disrespecting the terms of the coalition agreement and clandestinely negotiating with other political parties to entice them to join the coalition without their knowledge.
The parties are particularly aggrieved by the news that Itula has been in negotiations with the LPM and has already drafted a framework to join the coalition without their knowledge.
The LPM, which occupies two seats on the Windhoek council, failed to join the coalition after the party’s representatives abandoned the negotiations in December last year due to differences regarding which party needed to occupy what position on the council.
“We have no principle problem of any sort to work with the LPM, but will not accept the dictatorial tendencies by yourself to make framework agreements without informing us [about] the content thereof, and your denial in this matter is disappointing … clearly there is a motive by yourself and the IPC to discredit the mayor [Amupanda],” the parties said.
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