We were naive: Gawanas on City duties

City of Windhoek councillor Sade Gawanas says opposition parties may have underestimated the mammoth task that laid ahead when they took control of the country’s biggest municipality.

Opposition parties took control of council after wrestling it from the Swapo Party at the 2020 local authority and regional council elections.

Looking back, the former mayor said the opposition was wrong to think it would be smooth sailing immediately.

She made the comments during a sit-down with Namibian Sun on Evening Review.

“I think we were naive to think that things in the local authority would run smoothly through the phase of 2021 to 2025. We were also naive to think that this was going to work. The lesson learnt is change is the only thing that is inevitable,” Gawanas said.

“I don’t think we were ready [for coalitions]. I don’t think Swapo as a ruling party was ever ready. I don’t think all the other parties were ever ready, especially at the local authority level,” she added.

Despite the impasse to get resolutions adopted quickly, political parties still played their part to run the council, she said.

“Every political party made its contributions. The reason residents do not see an improvement is because we do not have the capacity to deliver,” Gawanas said.

Checks and balances

The council would still be able to implement resolutions for the benefit of the City, despite not having management committee, she said.

“Despite the management committee not being constituted, we took a few resolutions since 2021, and there are a lot of resolutions that have not been completed. There is a lot that can still be done, regardless of the management committee not being constituted,” she said.

The experience, she added, could still prove useful amid predictions that Swapo could lose its dominance in parliament.

“We will be able to have checks and balances. We have to reach consensus. You have to talk to me, we have to sit at the table and work it out because all of us made an oath to render the services; therefore, we are going to make it work,” Gawanas said.

Nepotism, tribalism

According to her, the opposition-led council also had reason to celebrate certain victories, most notably at the City Police where she said nepotism and tribalism had been dealt with.

“There are a lot of decisions we have taken with the structure to enable the City to run efficiently. You have been having problems at the City Police, of tribalism and nepotism. We dealt with that,” Gawanas said.

“We had to deal with issues where there was sexual abuse, drug abuse... We dealt with that. We have done better under the circumstances we got into at council and I think there was a rejuvenation, a hype that ‘oh, at least other people can also be given an opportunity to lead and others can also make a difference’,” she added.