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Carla Kabamba
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In council

Council meetings

In the full council meeting, all 45 councillors debate and vote on proposals, motions and amendments.

35 · Page 1 of 7 · Watch the playlist on YouTube ↗

Council meeting6:11 speaking time

Carla Kabamba’s farewell speech

At the last council meeting of the term, Carla said goodbye. Mayor Halsema described her as a distinctive councillor who never thought small and who, as a one-person group, worked against period poverty and for childcare, fundamental rights, heritage and liveability. In her farewell speech Carla looked back on OBA Next, the talks on Congo and Sudan and the Route to Repair. To new councillors she said: listen to the city, including those who remain unseen (in Dutch).

Watch the full meeting on Raadsinformatie ↗

Questions + answers · 7:49

0:00 / 7:49YouTube ↗

Chapters

Council meeting15:11 speaking time

Stek Oost and the K-midden investment plan

In this council meeting Carla spoke on topics including the K-midden investment plan in Zuidoost and Amsterdam’s approach to refugees and undocumented people. In the interpellation on Stek Oost, a housing complex for students and refugees with residence permits where residents faced sexual assault and rape, she called the violence serious but warned that it must not be used to cast refugees as a group as perpetrators: anyone who truly wants to tackle violence against women must tackle its roots, such as the idea that a woman is worth less (in Dutch).

Watch the full meeting on Raadsinformatie ↗

Questions + answers · 27:36

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Chapters

Council meeting5:49 speaking time

Advertising ban, rogue landlords and Hart voor de K-buurt

In question time on rogue landlords, Carla suggested giving everyone who registers in Amsterdam a leaflet on what a landlord may not do and where to report it, and asked how the city reaches people far removed from government. On the ban on fossil fuel advertising she supported the ban but pointed out that electric driving also relies on cobalt from Congo; she was critical of banning meat advertising at the same time, since it hits small businesses harder than big chains, and asked for a transition period. On the cloud strategy she argued for rapid digital independence from American tech companies, with ideas from the city itself. And on the study of Hart voor de K-buurt she recalled that young people helped bring OBA Next to the K-buurt through that organisation (in Dutch).

Watch the full meeting on Raadsinformatie ↗

Questions + answers · 10:47

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Chapters

Council meeting5:10 speaking time

Route to Repair

On the executive’s response to the Route to Repair, Carla called it “very much a Kabamba subject”: it shows what the first steps towards justice look like. She listed countries that in 2025 had been independent for fifty years or more, such as Suriname, Angola and Cape Verde, and that still face neo-colonial challenges. In a debate with Van Schijndel (FvD) she said: rewriting is repair, making good what was broken. Earlier, with the budget, the amendment she co-sponsored for 150,000 euros to start in 2026 had been adopted. She also explained why she voted for a research motion on housing for career-changers in teaching (in Dutch).

Watch the full meeting on Raadsinformatie ↗

Questions + answers · 6:10

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Chapters

Council meeting5:41 speaking time

2026 budget: “politics is about dignity and repair”

At the 2026 budget, possibly her last as a councillor, Carla looked back: politics is not just about numbers but about human dignity and repair. She named her work for OBA Next in the K-buurt, against the erotic centre in Zuidoost, for free public transport and keeping metro 53, and her attention to Congo, Gaza and Sudan, refugees, undocumented people and elderly Surinamese former Dutch citizens. On the education by-law she asked how schools in Zuidoost and Nieuw-West will not fall behind in the subsidy for school buildings, and whether the council will hear each year how it is distributed. Later she chaired part of the meeting, during the debate on the reports after the riots of November 2024. She voted for the motion for a meeting with descendants of contract labourers: “an important moment on our road to repair” (in Dutch).

Watch the full meeting on Raadsinformatie ↗

Questions + answers · 9:32

0:00 / 9:32YouTube ↗

Chapters