Ngurare says governors are ‘presidents’ of their regions

Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare has declared regional governors as the “final authority” in their regions and called on all Namibians, including opposition members, to respect them as representatives of the president.

Ngurare described governors as “the presidents of their respective regions” during an event yesterday at which the Namibia Special Risks Insurance Association (Nasria) donated N$25 million to governors’ offices to support initiatives intended to grow regional economies, attract investment and accelerate development.

He said government had been working with finance minister Erica Shafudah to identify ways of providing governors with the resources needed to perform their responsibilities.

“The little, as they might be, it will make a difference,” he said, referring to the resources being mobilised for regional offices.

Ngurare said regional leaders should not be expected to deliver without adequate financial support and issued a direct message about how the funding should be used.

“To deliver, not to stagnate. To deliver, not to sabotage.”

He also emphasised the political authority of governors as presidential representatives.

“Every region, therefore, all the people in those regions, including opposition members, must do what? Respect the governors," he said.

Ngurare said governors should be empowered to act on regional development priorities, describing them as the final authority within their respective regions.

Respect is earned

Popular Democratic Movement president McHenry Venaani rejected the suggestion that political respect could simply be demanded, arguing that leaders must earn it.

“Respect in any political setting is not demanded. Any leader must earn respect from people,” Venaani said.

He said the call for opposition members to respect governors should not be treated as a one-sided requirement because Swapo is also an opposition party in some regional and local authority structures.

“You can't impose yourself on the people, but on the question of respecting governors, I think it goes both ways. The governors must respect the chairperson of the regional council and councillors, and the councillors must respect the governor,” he added.

 “We have no problems with issues of respect,” he said. “We respect everybody, but respect is earned.”

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