The annual internal elections of the Otjiwarongo Municipality’s political office bearers failed to take place on Tuesday after the local authority councillors here became embroiled in a heated debate during the proceedings.
The councillors started to debate while proceedings were on, and some of them also objected to the nomination of 47-year-old Hilde Noreses to serve on the management committee, saying she was a corruption convict.
Magistrate Ivette Fredricks who presided then postponed the elections to 14 December 2021 saying the local authority councillors should first resolve their disagreement.
Their meeting was aimed at electing the town mayor, deputy mayor, management committee chairperson and two permanent members and an alternate member to the committee to serve the municipality on a 12-month tenure.
The seven councillors are Gottlieb Shivute, Julienda Kampungu, Godhardt Hoko, Hilde Noreses, Sebetius Guiteb, Dr Maritz Laubscher and Fearika Elizabeth Botha.
Shivute, Kampungu, Hoko and Noreses are Swapo members, while Guiteb is from the Landless People’s Movement (LPM), Laubscher from the Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) and Botha from the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC).
The debate started after Shivute nominated Noreses to the position of a management committee member to which the opposition unanimously objected.
They said Noreses was corrupt as she was found guilty and sentenced by a competent court of law in July this year.
They further stated she even paid a fine of N.dollars 50 000 to escape a two-year jail term to her charges of bribery and corruption.
She committed the crime at the Ministry of Finance where she worked in Otjiwarongo.
Noreses had resigned and paid the fine for her to continue serving the municipality as a management committee member for the past 11 months.
Hoko who previously served as chairperson of the municipality’s management committee tried to defend her, but the magistrate ruled in favour of the opposition parties on grounds that the councillors should first resolve their issues before the process can continue.
Otjozondjupa Swapo regional coordinator, Susan Hikopua was present when the ruling was made and she immediately outside the council chamber convened a meeting with her local authority councillors.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
