Bensen Katjirijova has hit back at his critics, saying he achieved most of his targets while at the helm of the Popular Democratic Movement Youth League (PDMYL).

Katjirijova was responding to media queries around his tenure on Tuesday, shortly after PDM secretary-general Manuel Ngaringombe announced the party’s decision to remove Katjirijova as the youth league’s SG at a media conference.

Katjirijova’s 10-year tenure was marred by allegations of underperformance, the latest being the PDMYL congress, which failed to elect new leaders in December.

“I am not here for performance appraisals… The secretary did well, although maybe not to our expectations,” Ngaringombe said in Katjirijova’s defence.

Katjirijova has now been appointed as PDM’s Secretary for Organisation and Mobilisation.

“I cannot accept your word that I failed the organisation while I am promoted from one position to another,” Katjirijova responded to questions from the media before referring to the establishment of PDMYL structures.

“We didn’t have a constitution. We did not have a structure in this organisation. I put those things in place… We started from scratch,” he said.

There were, however, some stumbling blocks he faced in the last decade.

“You can’t do everything… If you are inter-dependent on the organisation, your responsibilities are restricted. So what I did in my tenure, I did. Let other people take it from there,” he said.

Asked how he would rate his individual performance during his rule from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best, he said: “Seven out of 10.”

While Katjirijova takes a forward leap in his political career, he leaves the PDMYL operating on autopilot.

“The top six [leaders] of the party resolved to disband all 14 regional executive committees, which were restructured during the run-up to the collapsed national congress in 2021…” Ngaringombe also announced.

Without elected leaders, the youth is technically on autopilot.

“This is to ensure that not only are the constitutional structures of the PDMYL intact and functional but also to avoid the fracas that led to the National Congress of 2021 collapsing,” he explained.

The youth league management committee has been tasked with drafting a road map leading to another PDMYL elective congress within six months, while current deputy secretary-general Yvette Araes assumes the role of acting SG, replacing Katjirijova.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency