EDITORIAL: PDM must follow IPC’s example
The Popular Democratic Movement (PDM) has been dancing around the thorny issue of one of its councillors having taken money from members of the public for a trip that never came to pass.
It seems the councillor, Rodman Katjaimo, is being protected like a Fabergé egg on the pure basis of the current political dynamics in the party ahead of congress. His fierce support of party president McHenry Venaani seems to insulate him from accountability.
Whether Katjaimo acted in his private or official capacity when he took money from people desperate to travel to the UK, the scandal is big enough to warrant action by a party that presents itself as a government-in-waiting.
Just the other day, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) took perhaps the most difficult decision of its short lifespan by acting against its councillor for Swakopmund constituency, whom it recalled - prompting a by-election.
Even when the party knew it could lose the constituency in that election, it chose principles over protecting someone that it deemed violated the laws of the land.
Venaani actually stands to benefit both himself and the party, in terms of public perception, if he leads a crusade against the blatant abuse of unsuspecting victims of Katjaimo’s unethical behaviour.
Shielding the councillor could only damage the party’s reputation ahead of the 2024 elections which, for the first time, the major parties enter on almost equal footing.
It seems the councillor, Rodman Katjaimo, is being protected like a Fabergé egg on the pure basis of the current political dynamics in the party ahead of congress. His fierce support of party president McHenry Venaani seems to insulate him from accountability.
Whether Katjaimo acted in his private or official capacity when he took money from people desperate to travel to the UK, the scandal is big enough to warrant action by a party that presents itself as a government-in-waiting.
Just the other day, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) took perhaps the most difficult decision of its short lifespan by acting against its councillor for Swakopmund constituency, whom it recalled - prompting a by-election.
Even when the party knew it could lose the constituency in that election, it chose principles over protecting someone that it deemed violated the laws of the land.
Venaani actually stands to benefit both himself and the party, in terms of public perception, if he leads a crusade against the blatant abuse of unsuspecting victims of Katjaimo’s unethical behaviour.
Shielding the councillor could only damage the party’s reputation ahead of the 2024 elections which, for the first time, the major parties enter on almost equal footing.
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