Agnes Kafula – Namibia

Two years into her term, Councillor Agnes Kafula of the Windhoek Council believes that in the end experience may be the best teacher for a councillor.  She says that it is difficult being a first time councillor and recalls that “the first two or three months weren’t easy months, because it was as if I had just started classes in grade one but I managed to go through that process.”

She goes on to list all of the bodies and councils she now sits on. “I was chosen out of the 15 councillors to represent the City of Windhoek on the council of the University of Namibia (UNAM) as a member of the council. Out of that there are a number of other committees within the UNAM establishment on which I have been elected to stand.” She also serves as a member of the executive and a member of the management committee of ALAN (Association of Local Authorities of Namibia).

While she never received any training for any of the councils she sits on she feels that in the two years that she has been a councillor she has gained a lot of experience. “I am now at a level where I can express myself and address the community and it can be a function where I can address a big audience, sometimes the Mayor nominates one of the councillors to address some of the functions. So it’s that experience that I have gained. I can go and say what I need to say with confidence and without fear. All women have gained.”