Petrus Junius elected as UPM President

REHOBOTH, 15 APR  – United People’s Movement (UPM) Central Committee elections here on Saturday saw Petrus Junius become president.
The position was vacant after the retirement of its founding president, Willem van Wyk, at the end of August last year.
Junius, in his address after the elections, said this is the year when a few very important issues on the political front are going to see the light of day, and his party as one of the political parties represented on all three tiers of Government, will be part of addressing these issues.
“Because it is so, we will have to take part and take a stance on these issues,” Junius said.
Among the issues UPM wants to be tackled is the national land issue, saying Rehoboth has a long standing issue on land and the expropriation thereof by the Namibian Government.
Junius also mentioned the troubled Rehoboth Town Council, where UPM is represented by three councillors, as a burning issue.
All seven councillors were recently suspended by Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Peya Mushelenga for an indefinite period, following reports of infighting and allegations of maladministration.
“Although our councillors were not guilty of the mess in which the municipality found itself, they were suspended together with the real culprits. I am of the opinion that the minister should shed more light on what the future holds for the council, especially in the case of the opposition councillors,” Junius remarked.
He further said the central committee meeting is the platform where the party discuss and formulate its position on some pertinent issues and how they will deal with them.
Previous national chairperson and Member of Parliament Jan Johannes van Wyk was elected vice-president, and Emma Farmer was elected into the position of national chairperson.
Other members elected were Frans Bertolini as vice-chairperson and Geraldine Steenkamp as deputy secretary-general (SG). Thelma Kunze remains SG.
With these elections, the UPM now has eight female and four males as members on its central committee.

NAMPA