Hardap communities blast councillors
Poverty runs amok while politicians fight
Residents in the Hardap Region are unimpressed by the performance of their councillors, a situation they say can only be remedied by enhanced accountability.
Hardap Region residents want government to amend the country’s electoral laws to make it compulsory for those who wish to contest in local authority elections to possess a minimum level of academic qualification.
Another key proposal is the introduction of performance agreements to measure the work of political office-bearers at regional level.
These proposals are contained in a report tabled by National Council chairperson Lukas Muha, following an outreach he undertook to the Omaheke and Hardap regions in October 2022.
Community members also want social challenges such as the lack of potable water, teenage pregnancy, landlessness, unemployment, crime and drug abuse to be addressed.
According to the report, councillors’ performance was seemingly amongst burning issues raised by communities.
During Muha’s meeting with community members in Aranos, residents proposed that parliament review the Local Authority Act to provide for minimum academic qualification requirements for local authority councillors.
The Act, which governs the electoral process for local authorities, currently does not specify any educational prerequisites for candidates.
Lack of consultation
According to the report, “the community proposed that local authority councillors be paid salaries and not allowances in order to prevent corruption”.
Meanwhile in Gibeon, community members told Muha that they would like to see government introducing performance agreements for all regional councillors.
While airing their unhappiness about their dire living conditions, community members were also up in arms due to the fact that some councillors were not part of the meeting, while others accused councillors of lacking proper understanding of the Regional Councils Act.
“There exists lack of consultation between the local authority councillors and the community. The community complained about too many meetings with national leaders that never yield feedback or results,” the report noted.
In Hoachanas, Muha was filled in on the 'never-ending' infighting between the chairperson of the Hardap regional council, Gershon Dausab, and regional governor, Salomon April.
Residents also said “they are not sure who to approach between the councillor and governor regarding their concerns”.
“There is a lack of communication with their [residents’] regional councillor, who hardly responds to calls, nor is found at the constituency office.”
No standards
Political analyst Rui Tyitende agreed with the proposal to subject councillors to stringent requirements.
“We have no standards when it comes to politicians occupying various positions in this country. Since independence, politics has been dominated by the rejects and losers of society,” he said yesterday.
Tyitende further argued that the absence of educational prerequisites for political positions is a concerning oversight, and emphasised the need for competence and knowledge in the conduct of politics.
“We have standards for cleaners, security guards and all other vacancies, but not for positions that ultimately decide who gets to live and die - often literally.
“The conduct of politics is a serious business and all the chance-takers should be kept out! The poor quality of debates and policy-making is indicative of a country that is populated with politicians who are bereft of ideas and - to a large extent - intellectually lazy and bankrupt,” he said.
Competence
Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) leader Dr Panduleni Itula echoed these sentiments, adding: "Local authorities are part of our legislative chambers as they make by-laws affecting the lives of our local citizens within their jurisdiction. As such, there is a need for those aspiring to be servants of the people in the locality to have competence to be conversant with the relevant statutory provisions governing their duties and responsibilities".
According to him, “considering the magnitude of responsibility associated with public office as local authority councillors”, establishing a certain standard prior to seeking such positions is not unreasonable.
Another key proposal is the introduction of performance agreements to measure the work of political office-bearers at regional level.
These proposals are contained in a report tabled by National Council chairperson Lukas Muha, following an outreach he undertook to the Omaheke and Hardap regions in October 2022.
Community members also want social challenges such as the lack of potable water, teenage pregnancy, landlessness, unemployment, crime and drug abuse to be addressed.
According to the report, councillors’ performance was seemingly amongst burning issues raised by communities.
During Muha’s meeting with community members in Aranos, residents proposed that parliament review the Local Authority Act to provide for minimum academic qualification requirements for local authority councillors.
The Act, which governs the electoral process for local authorities, currently does not specify any educational prerequisites for candidates.
Lack of consultation
According to the report, “the community proposed that local authority councillors be paid salaries and not allowances in order to prevent corruption”.
Meanwhile in Gibeon, community members told Muha that they would like to see government introducing performance agreements for all regional councillors.
While airing their unhappiness about their dire living conditions, community members were also up in arms due to the fact that some councillors were not part of the meeting, while others accused councillors of lacking proper understanding of the Regional Councils Act.
“There exists lack of consultation between the local authority councillors and the community. The community complained about too many meetings with national leaders that never yield feedback or results,” the report noted.
In Hoachanas, Muha was filled in on the 'never-ending' infighting between the chairperson of the Hardap regional council, Gershon Dausab, and regional governor, Salomon April.
Residents also said “they are not sure who to approach between the councillor and governor regarding their concerns”.
“There is a lack of communication with their [residents’] regional councillor, who hardly responds to calls, nor is found at the constituency office.”
No standards
Political analyst Rui Tyitende agreed with the proposal to subject councillors to stringent requirements.
“We have no standards when it comes to politicians occupying various positions in this country. Since independence, politics has been dominated by the rejects and losers of society,” he said yesterday.
Tyitende further argued that the absence of educational prerequisites for political positions is a concerning oversight, and emphasised the need for competence and knowledge in the conduct of politics.
“We have standards for cleaners, security guards and all other vacancies, but not for positions that ultimately decide who gets to live and die - often literally.
“The conduct of politics is a serious business and all the chance-takers should be kept out! The poor quality of debates and policy-making is indicative of a country that is populated with politicians who are bereft of ideas and - to a large extent - intellectually lazy and bankrupt,” he said.
Competence
Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) leader Dr Panduleni Itula echoed these sentiments, adding: "Local authorities are part of our legislative chambers as they make by-laws affecting the lives of our local citizens within their jurisdiction. As such, there is a need for those aspiring to be servants of the people in the locality to have competence to be conversant with the relevant statutory provisions governing their duties and responsibilities".
According to him, “considering the magnitude of responsibility associated with public office as local authority councillors”, establishing a certain standard prior to seeking such positions is not unreasonable.
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