Sankwasa demands refunds for unauthorised foreign trip
Councillors defy minister for Zambia, Botswana trips
Urban and Rural Development Minister Sankwasa James Sankwasa has ordered officials from the Zambezi Regional Council to refund N$136 000 allegedly spent on an unauthorised and unnecessary trip to Botswana and Zambia - undertaken despite his explicit refusal to approve the travel due to lack of funds.
The councillors travelled alongside Zambezi governor Dorothy Kabula after she obtained separate authorisation from President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. Sankwasa maintains that, by law, councillors require approval from his office - not State House - before travelling outside the country.
The regional council originally sought approval to travel from 28 September to 1 October 2025. The minister rejected the request, citing exhausted travel funds and lack of economic benefit. The council’s deputy director of finance, Cecilia Sibitwani, had advised that the governor could travel alone due to budget constraints.
“Currently, we are sitting without toilet paper in the toilets and other office materials,” Sibitwani warned in an internal memo, adding that the council had already spent nearly N$1.5 million of its annual N$2.45 million travel budget by early September.
Despite this, Kabula proceeded with the trip after receiving presidential approval, accompanied by council chairperson Matengu Simushi - who is also her husband - along with councillors Humphrey Divai, Kennedy Simasiku and Ivene Kabunga. Also included in the trip was chief regional officer Regina Ndopu, who – according to Sankwasa - is on suspension and has not been reinstated back into her position.
‘Marriage relationships overriding governance’
In a strongly worded letter dated 10 October, Sankwasa accused the governor and her husband of flouting governance rules by using their marital relationship to circumvent administrative processes.
“Good corporate governance does not allow mixing marriage relationships to override administrative requirements,” he wrote, adding that councillors knowingly travelled after being explicitly denied permission.
He further argued that oversight of regional councils falls under his ministry in terms of the Constitution and the Regional Councils Act, making him individually accountable for authorising international travel.
‘I report to the President, not Sankwasa’
Kabula dismissed the minister’s stance, insisting that her appointing authority is the President, and therefore her travel authorisation is valid. She stressed that she could not have travelled alone. “Who would have introduced me? The councillors I found already in office are the ones who knew where to take me to meet my counterparts, who, by the way, received us very warmly in Mongu and Kasane. So, I do not understand why Minister Sankwasa considers the trip unauthorized. In fact, I do not need his permission to travel,” she said.
“My appointing authority is the President... I do not need his permission to travel,” she said.
She also rejected criticism regarding travelling with her husband: “I found him already serving as chairperson. I had no mandate to tell him to vacate his position because he is my husband.”
Simushi challenged the minister’s legal authority to demand repayment, saying Sankwasa failed to cite any statutory provisions granting him such powers.
“There is nothing in the Regional Councils Act that gives him that mandate... These are internal directives, not based on any law,” he said.
He further argued that regional councillors are elected officials accountable to the electorate - not to ministers - and that only council resolutions can authorise or nullify actions.
Funds to be recovered
Sankwasa has directed the council’s accounting officer to reclaim N$136 397 spent on the trip, which he said resulted in a "deliberate loss to the State."
He maintains that while the President may authorise the governor’s international engagements, councillors must still seek ministerial approval and may not piggyback on authorisation meant for the governor alone. - [email protected]
The councillors travelled alongside Zambezi governor Dorothy Kabula after she obtained separate authorisation from President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. Sankwasa maintains that, by law, councillors require approval from his office - not State House - before travelling outside the country.
The regional council originally sought approval to travel from 28 September to 1 October 2025. The minister rejected the request, citing exhausted travel funds and lack of economic benefit. The council’s deputy director of finance, Cecilia Sibitwani, had advised that the governor could travel alone due to budget constraints.
“Currently, we are sitting without toilet paper in the toilets and other office materials,” Sibitwani warned in an internal memo, adding that the council had already spent nearly N$1.5 million of its annual N$2.45 million travel budget by early September.
Despite this, Kabula proceeded with the trip after receiving presidential approval, accompanied by council chairperson Matengu Simushi - who is also her husband - along with councillors Humphrey Divai, Kennedy Simasiku and Ivene Kabunga. Also included in the trip was chief regional officer Regina Ndopu, who – according to Sankwasa - is on suspension and has not been reinstated back into her position.
‘Marriage relationships overriding governance’
In a strongly worded letter dated 10 October, Sankwasa accused the governor and her husband of flouting governance rules by using their marital relationship to circumvent administrative processes.
“Good corporate governance does not allow mixing marriage relationships to override administrative requirements,” he wrote, adding that councillors knowingly travelled after being explicitly denied permission.
He further argued that oversight of regional councils falls under his ministry in terms of the Constitution and the Regional Councils Act, making him individually accountable for authorising international travel.
‘I report to the President, not Sankwasa’
Kabula dismissed the minister’s stance, insisting that her appointing authority is the President, and therefore her travel authorisation is valid. She stressed that she could not have travelled alone. “Who would have introduced me? The councillors I found already in office are the ones who knew where to take me to meet my counterparts, who, by the way, received us very warmly in Mongu and Kasane. So, I do not understand why Minister Sankwasa considers the trip unauthorized. In fact, I do not need his permission to travel,” she said.
“My appointing authority is the President... I do not need his permission to travel,” she said.
She also rejected criticism regarding travelling with her husband: “I found him already serving as chairperson. I had no mandate to tell him to vacate his position because he is my husband.”
Simushi challenged the minister’s legal authority to demand repayment, saying Sankwasa failed to cite any statutory provisions granting him such powers.
“There is nothing in the Regional Councils Act that gives him that mandate... These are internal directives, not based on any law,” he said.
He further argued that regional councillors are elected officials accountable to the electorate - not to ministers - and that only council resolutions can authorise or nullify actions.
Funds to be recovered
Sankwasa has directed the council’s accounting officer to reclaim N$136 397 spent on the trip, which he said resulted in a "deliberate loss to the State."
He maintains that while the President may authorise the governor’s international engagements, councillors must still seek ministerial approval and may not piggyback on authorisation meant for the governor alone. - [email protected]
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