Leading the City of Windhoek is not child’s play – from administrative challenges and political bickering to scoundrels masquerading as investors, the mayor of Windhoek must have thick skin, political dexterity and maturity to rise above pettiness at all times.
This is according to former Windhoek mayor, Fransina Kahungu, during a recent interview.
Current Windhoek deputy mayor, Uaraa Uapingene shares similar sentiments. Uapingene represents the National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) on the municipal council.
They were reflecting on the state of affairs at CoW currently.
The municipality is led by the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), Nudo and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM).
It remains unclear if the current coalition has a working framework or operates on an ad-hoc basis.
“When you are a politician and you are working with technical people, you have to strike a balance. You listen to the technical side and your political side, but you have to see common ground for you to work together,” Kahungu explained.
The Swapo politician also reflected on the dramatic first Windhoek municipal council meeting for 2022.
“If your aim of being in a given position is not aligned to aims and objectives of an organisation which sent you there, you will do wrong things. Never ever put your individual agenda before the agenda of an organisation,” the former Windhoek mayor said.
Service delivery and leadership go beyond rhetoric and a flawless command of the English language.
“I don’t blame them [current leadership]. There is always time for everyone to learn. But let us not learn forever,” she added.
The biggest challenge for the opposition-led coalition has been finding consensus on critical issues due to ideological differences.
The same cannot be said about Swapo, who since independence enjoyed an outright majority in Windhoek which made it easier for the ruling party to take decisions, according to some experts and politicians.
But Kahungu says it was never the case as her party always considered input from minority parties.
“When you go there, tell yourself that I am going there to work with others according to rules and procedures embedded in policies which are in place,” Kahungu said.
On his part, Uapingene said running the biggest municipality in the land is “not an easy ride”.
“It would have been easy if we agreed on the fundamental needs of our residents and how to go about addressing them. However, sometimes as leaders, we become selfish for political expediency, which affects the stability of the coalition,” Uapingene said.
He added that all 15 municipal councillors enjoy cordial working relations.
“The issues only arise when the principal leaders of political parties interfere in the work of council, placing their individual and party interests ahead of those of the residents of Windhoek,” he added.
Having been part of the two – and only – coalitions Windhoek has ever seen, Uapingene has learned one thing: “Undermining each other in a coalition is one of our greatest pitfalls. We are equal despite the number of seats. This must be understood. You can have four or five seats, but without the party with one seat, you are nothing.”
Source: The Namibian Press Agency