Walvis Bay Local Authority Councillor Ephraim Shozi has slammed comments describing a cancelled special council meeting as illegal. 

The special council meeting could not take place on June 12th and 13th due to a lack of quorum.

Shozi told nbc News that the Deputy Mayor’s description of the cancelled meeting is misleading the public.

Saara Mutondoka and other councillors who are members of the Management Committee were accused of boycotting a special council meeting on the 12th and 13th of June.

When given a right of reply, Mutondoka said at that time she couldn’t attend because she was in Windhoek on official duty and further described the special meeting as illegal.

In response, councillor Shozi stressed that there was a council meeting on the 6th of June at Kuisebmond, which continued until 21:00.

He says it was at this event that the nine councillors, apart from the mayor, decided to postpone the five items on the agenda to the following week, on Wednesday, June 12th, and Thursday, June 13th.

The items that were up for discussion include the appointment of members to the Erongo Red committee and the outcome of the investigation into the Red Force Debt Management contract.

However, only four councillors, namely Shozi, Albertina Nkoshi, Paulus Kauhondamwa, and Ryan Gordon, attended both meetings, and another third was a result of a postponement. 

“The council took a decision to postpone those items to two separate meetings, which was done. So what I feel is misleading is: how is it all of a sudden that the meeting that we attended is illegal? Number 1, we don’t convene meetings; we don’t; only the CEO has the powers to convene the meetings; he will send out notices. He sent out notices, and that is why we attended the meetings. So now, should we act on the contrary and boycott the meetings that we have been given? No, we can’t, because we are here to serve the public. We are here to serve the entire community of Walvis Bay. So for those who could not attend or did not attend, I will not call it a boycott because they must explain themselves.”

The notice from the Acting Chief Executive Officer confirms that the mayor, Trevino Forbes, was requested to convene a special council meeting on Wednesday, June 12, and the request was supported by the five signatures of the councillors, including the Deputy Mayors’. 

The Public Relations department says the special meeting has been postponed to Thursday, June 27.