P03 05072017

THE NAMIBIAN National News Wednesday 5 July 2017
3
Oshikoto rejects Ya Ndakolo
Ya Ndakolo
• SAKEUS IKELA
OSHIKOTO Swapo regional executive
committee members want Penda ya
Ndakolo removed as chairperson of the
national leaders assigned to the region.
In a letter addressed to Swapo secretary
general Nangolo Mbumba, the
Oshikoto regional executive committee
said Ya Ndakolo has been acting
out of his jurisdiction as an observer by
interfering in the affairs of the region.
According to the letter, the duties
of the national leaders assigned to
regions are to observe and comply
with the decisions, resolutions and
directives of the majority, and to oppose
factionalism and defend the party
with sincerity and honesty.
The executive accused Ya Ndakolo
of harassing, insulting and intimidating
them while pushing for his preferred
candidates, and also tampering with
the outcome of the regional conference.
“Cde Penda ya Ndakolo is responsible
for tampering with the outcome of
the regional conference of the Swapo
Party Elders’ Council (SPEC) in the
region,” stated the letter.
The letter also claimed that Ya Ndakolo
convinced Max Nekongo to withdraw
from contesting the SPEC regional
secretary position, and to vie for the
regional coordinator’s position instead.
“By way of this letter, we are moving
a vote of no confidence in comrade
Penda ya Ndakolo. He must be removed
immediately from that position,
and never again be assigned to any
party responsibilities in the Oshikoto
region. We have lost complete faith,
trust and confidence in cde Penda ya
Ndakolo”, the letter states.
Oshikoto regional coordinator
Armas Amukwiyu yesterday said the
letter had been delivered to Mbumba’s
office, and therefore he [Mbumba]
was best-placed to answer questions
regarding the letter.
Ya Ndakolo, however, told The
Namibian yesterday that he did not
interfere, and has no intentions of
interfering in the affairs of the region.
“My duties in the region are to observe
and oversee regional and district
restructuring meetings. I do not do
anything else apart from that,” said
Ya Ndakolo.
He also denied pushing for his
preferred candidates, and demanded
that the regional executive provides
proof of this.
“They must provide minutes reflecting
that I nominated a candidate,
or recommended a candidate in the
meetings held,” he said.
Ya Ndakolo added that he was not
aware that the regional executive
committee met yesterday to discuss
his removal.
“I called Amukwiyu this morning,
asking him why I was not invited to
the meeting. He told me that the meeting
was only for executives,” he said,
adding that national leaders assigned
to regions are mandated to oversee
every meeting in the region.
Mbumba yesterday said he was in a
meeting out of town, and was therefore
unable to comment.
Admin issues
almost delay
grant payments
• THERESIA TJIHENUNA
MONDAY’S late release of social grant monies to
NamPost was caused by an administrative issue,
poverty eradication minister Zephania Kameeta
said yesterday.
Kameeta was reacting to a notice issued by
NamPost on Monday, stating that there would be
no payment of pension grants through its various
branches on Tuesday because the poverty eradication
ministry had not paid in the money.
However, the money was apparently paid
in later the same day, and beneficiaries were
queuing yesterday morning for their monthly
grants. The ministry pays around N$70 million
in grants through NamPost every month.
“It is not a matter of money not being available.
We have budgeted for the grants. If there
are any hiccups, then they should be attributed
to administrative issues,” he told The Namibian
yesterday.
Poverty eradication permanent secretary (PS)
I-Ben Nashandi yesterday told The Namibian
that state grant beneficiaries normally collected
their money on the first Tuesday of every month.
He, however, blamed the delay on the Ministry
of Finance, saying the money had only been
released late on Monday evening when it was
supposed to have been done on Monday morning.
“The problem has been rectified now. We are
just trying to make sure that the money reaches
areas in remote parts of the country,” he stated.
Nashandi late yesterday also issued a notice,
assuring the public that the payment of social
grants through NamPost was going ahead as
usual, adding that the notice stating that the grants
would be delayed should be ignored.
A long-serving NamPost employee on Monday
said this was the first time that such a delay had
been experienced. Finance PS Ericah Shafudah
was unreachable yesterday.
Zephania Kameeta
NEW ADDITIONS ... Two acting
judges of the High Court, Boas
Usiku and Hannelie Prinsloo, were
sworn in as permanent judges
yesterday. Usiku, who has been
an acting judge at the Windhoek
High Court since September last
year, and Prinsloo, who has been
an acting judge over the past five
months, will hear civil cases in the
High Court, Chief Justice Peter
Shivute said at the swearing-in at
Illegal land sales continue at Groot Aub
• NDAPEWOSHALI SHAPWANALE
ILLEGAL land sales and the erecting
of unauthorised structures continue
unabated at Groot Aub, despite urban
development minister Sophia Shaningwa
ordering a stop to such activities in May.
Responding to questions sent to the
City of Windhoek, spokesperson Lydia
Amutenya told The Namibian that the city
was aware of the illegal land sales and the
erecting of unauthorised structures.
She said the issues were being addressed
in collaboration with the Groot Aub constituency
office, which falls under the
Khomas regional council, and the police.
Khomas Regional Council spokesperson
Lydia Shifa yesterday said that they were
aware of some of the illegal activities at
the settlement, but did not know anything
about illegal land sales as nobody has been
identified in such transactions.
“We are taking note of these illegal structures
being put up, and we are addressing
and even involving the police,” she said.
Shifa added that she understood why
people were resorting to illegally erecting
living structures, blaming the city’s
slow integration of the settlement into the
greater municipal area.
“There was a moratorium for no structures
to be put up until the city takes over.
Photo: Werner Menges
the Supreme Court in Windhoek.
Usiku was a partner in the law firm
Shikongo Law Chambers before
being appointed an acting judge,
while Prinsloo was a magistrate
based at Swakopmund. With their
appointment to the bench, the
High Court will have 16 permanent
judges, which, according to the
Chief Justice, was still woefully
inadequate for the volume of work
the court handles.
But people are becoming frustrated with
waiting, and are therefore putting up the
structures,” she said.
Shaningwa had said during a visit to
the settlement on 20 May that no land
should be sold and no structure erected
after that date.
Local community development committee
member, Les Williams, on Monday
told The Namibian that they have
recorded people erecting structures and
selling land after Shaningwa
had issued that order.
“There is a big problem waiting
to explode at Groot Aub.
We have taken pictures, and we
know exactly which ones were
built now,” Williams stressed.
He added that many people
still came from ‘outside’ to buy
and fence off land and erect
structures, and they now feared
violent confrontations over land
at the settlement.
His committee also wanted
to meet with the constituency
councillor to ask where they
could report illegal land sales
and the unauthorised erecting
of structures.
Windhoek rural constituency
councillor Penina Iita told The
Rural women want
better Govt service
• NDANKI KAHIURIKA
LACK of access to potable water and proper healthcare
featured prominently amongst motions tabled at the
fifth rural women’s parliament with men on Friday.
This year’s session was held under the theme ‘Parliament
gives a voice to rural women and men on the
SDGs (sustainable development goals)’.
At the closing ceremony last Friday, National Council
Chairperson Margaret Mensah-Williams said the motions
would be included in a report to be tabled in the
National Council for adoption.
Mensah-Williams praised the rural women and men for
their views and inputs during the three-day meeting, as
well as called for greater education on gender equality
and the empowerment of the girl child.
During the last session, Gladice Pickering, deputy permanent
secretary in the justice ministry, did a presentation
on gender-based violence, informing participants of
various laws to protect women and children against GBV.
“There is currently no indicator on the number or the
rate of femicides or the gender-related killings of women,
although this extreme form of violence is in many cases
related to the widespread unavailability of shelters and
a lack of enforceability of protection orders,” she said.
Pickering added that language barriers, lack of access
to information and a lack of resources often affected
rural women’s ability to know their rights.
Namibian that the illegal selling of land
at Groot Aub would be one of the topics
of discussion at a meeting on Thursday.
Shaningwa yesterday told The Namibian
that the continued sale of land had not yet
officially been brought to her attention.
She said in May that anyone found selling
land, or engaging in illegal mining
activities after 20 May would be prosecuted,
and all illegal structures would
be destroyed.
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