Third term for Kazapua

Third term for KazapuaWindhoek City Council re-elects mayor Youthful Windhoek mayor Muesee Kazapua will serve a third consecutive term as the capital’s first citizen. JANA-MARI SMITH



Thirty-six-year-old Windhoek mayor Muesee Kazapua will serve a third consecutive term following yesterday’s City of Windhoek office bearer election.

The mayor set the tone for the upcoming year shortly afterwards when he told members of the Windhoek City Council and management that they should redouble their efforts to tackle poverty and other social issues, including unemployment and lack of basic services in the informal settlements.

Kazapua also instructed his fellow councillors and members of the management committee and administrative staff to improve the quality of interaction with residents, clients and the media.

“Whether it is at the call centres, at council offices or in press conferences and media briefings. We will do so guided by the principles of accountability and good governance.”

He said management and staff would be held accountable for the quality of service they delivered.

“This will be done in the context of fiscal responsibility and the high standards of prudent financial management we have set ourselves.”

As the youngest member of the Windhoek City Council, and a member of the Swapo Party Youth League Central Committee, the mayor made headlines this year when it was revealed that, unlike most other politicians, many of whom live in luxury, the mayor lived in a backyard flat at his aunt’s house, close to Herero Mall in Katutura.

He told the author of an article in US Namibia, which appeared in this newspaper, that he deliberately chose to live “where the people are”, in order to ensure he was accessible when needed.

Kazapua first joined the city council in 2010. He served as a member of the council’s management committee in 2011, before he was elected as deputy mayor.

In December 2014, he was elected unopposed as Windhoek’s mayor, replacing former mayor Agnes Kafula.

Before the yesterday election, Kazapua said in his outgoing speech that the leadership agenda of the city council “was, and still is, driven by a commitment to address issues of bread and butter, and to improve the quality of life of our people, including those in the informal settlements through provision of potable water, sanitation, electricity, housing and job creation.”

Following his re-election in December 2015, Kazapua committed the city council to a ten-point mayoral priority agenda, in order to create a framework towards which councillors could orientate and prioritise their duties.

In his acceptance speech yesterday, he said the mayoral agenda remained in place.

At the top of the agenda is the provision of basic services, followed by land delivery, improvement of the systems of operations and performance, economic development and job creation and a clean city initiative and environmental management.

The agenda further prioritises public participation and consultative governance, food and nutrition programmes and will deal with urban transport and HIV/Aids campaigns and other serious diseases.

Kazapua yesterday said active participation by residents and the business community would be crucial to the success of the agenda.

Earlier this year, the mayor set up a six-month priority action plan, to which council members had to commit. This action plan included the development of a five-year strategic plan and the establishment of the mayoral relief fund.

He added that in line with the full implementation of the performance management system, an internal organisational re-alignment will take place in “order to suit the demands of today.” No further details were provided at the time.

Kazapua yesterday admitted that although the council did progress according to the agenda, “we also had to acknowledge and face our challenges, such as the effects of the economic downturn … shortage of water due to recurrent droughts, land delivery and shortages of housing and lack of adequate financial resources.”

Successes included an enhanced programme for the formalisation of informal settlements, in addition to programmes on the provision of water and electricity in these settlements.

Numerous serviced residential plots in Otjomuise, Khomasdal and Academia were completed as well as general residential erven in Khomasdal and Wanaheda.

Another milestone was the allocation of plots to vulnerable residents in the Okuryangava and Goreangab residential areas.