They came and 'mayored'... but what really changed?
New faces, same attitude and weak delivery
We start by returning to December 2020, when Windhoek’s council chambers were charged with hope and political novelty.
The City had its most diverse council in years, packed with promises of reform, accountability, urban renewal, better water management, affordable housing solutions and a break from the old ways.
Five years later, stand in a typical Windhoek neighbourhood – Katutura, Khomasdal, Klein Windhoek, Rocky Crest, Babylon, Otjomuise – and ask: What has actually changed?
Dr Job Amupanda, the first mayor of this era, swept in with bold declarations: speedy land delivery, cutting middlemen, reducing rates, reviving Ramatex and taking council meetings into communities.
He positioned land, dignity and public engagement as the heartbeat of his term. But today the land backlog is even bigger, City rates remain high and Ramatex still stands as a monument to stalled industrial ambition.
Sade Gawanas followed, vowing to fight corruption, prioritise the landless and forge partnerships that would turn Windhoek into a dynamic, investor-friendly city.
Yet the roads she inherited remain potholed, informal settlements are still underserviced, and water and electricity systems limp from crisis to crisis, with no lasting reforms.
Joseph Uapingene promised to put service delivery at the centre, focusing on infrastructure maintenance, land delivery and financial stability.
His tenure was anchored in the language of budgets – tightening spending, adjusting tariffs, cleaning the books. But residents continued to complain about rising water costs, shrinking electricity units and stalled land-servicing programmes.
Queen Kamati came with a technocratic vision: thoughtful urban planning, digital transformation, global partnerships and modernised service delivery.
Yet the lived experience of most residents scarcely reflects a leap into a “smart city”.
Road edges crumble, drainage systems clog when it rains, and the same water shortages return each year because the core infrastructure remains neglected.
The fifth mayor, Ndeshihafela Larandja, promised action over rhetoric, measurable progress over grand speeches and a focus on basic services, housing and informal settlement upgrades.
Increasing remuneration
But the problems she inherits are the same problems her predecessors failed to solve, because the machinery beneath the mayoral chain has not changed.
If there is one area where Windhoek’s councillors have shown remarkable efficiency, it is in improving their own remuneration.
In 2021, The Namibian reported that the City’s mayor was set to earn more than N$70 000 per month, about N$5 000 more than previous mayors, with an annual allowance approaching N$850 000.
Ordinary councillors were already earning around N$30 000 per month and New Era reported that their total monthly earnings – once sitting allowances were added – could reach over N$40 000.
Though these numbers were not specific to Windhoek alone, they reflected the upward trend in councillor compensation while service delivery stagnated.
Put plainly, councillor earnings grew faster than the City’s ability to fix pipes, tar roads, or deliver serviced land. Residents watched their tariffs climb – water, electricity, waste – while those meant to manage the crisis upgraded their pay packets with far more ease than they improved neighbourhoods.
As if nature were not happy with this status quo, the floods over the years have claimed more lives than ever.
One Africa reported that in 2022, five homeless men sleeping under a bridge near Game Stores in the Northern Industrial Area were swept away, while NBC quoted the City of Windhoek's Disaster Risk Management Division, confirming three fatalities in just one night of heavy rain in February this year.
Runaway tariffs
And in the midst of all this stagnation, the City should at least be grateful to Ongos Valley, which is funding the widening and upgrade of Peter Nanyemba Road, formerly Monte Christo Road, one of the few tangible infrastructure improvements Windhoek has seen in years.
Water tariffs were increased by 5% in October 2024, raising the basic 15 mm meter fee from N$49.30 to N$51.77 and pushing consumption charges across all bands; at one stage, the first 6 m³, for example, cost N$24.41 per m³ under the City’s “severe scarcity” regime, according to reporting by The Brief and The Namibian.
Electricity costs have also risen, with a 3.9% increase taking effect on 1 August this year, as reported by Namibian Sun, while the ECB’s 2024 tariff schedule confirms domestic charges of between N$2.17 and N$2.67 per kWh depending on the time of use, according to the Electricity Control Board.
Land delivery, the defining promise of 2020, remains Windhoek's deepest wound.
Informal settlements grow faster than serviced plots, and waiting lists stretch endlessly.
Each mayor arrived with big promises, but are our neighbourhoods any different from what they were five years ago?
In most places across Windhoek, the honest answer, sadly, is no.
The City had its most diverse council in years, packed with promises of reform, accountability, urban renewal, better water management, affordable housing solutions and a break from the old ways.
Five years later, stand in a typical Windhoek neighbourhood – Katutura, Khomasdal, Klein Windhoek, Rocky Crest, Babylon, Otjomuise – and ask: What has actually changed?
Dr Job Amupanda, the first mayor of this era, swept in with bold declarations: speedy land delivery, cutting middlemen, reducing rates, reviving Ramatex and taking council meetings into communities.
He positioned land, dignity and public engagement as the heartbeat of his term. But today the land backlog is even bigger, City rates remain high and Ramatex still stands as a monument to stalled industrial ambition.
Sade Gawanas followed, vowing to fight corruption, prioritise the landless and forge partnerships that would turn Windhoek into a dynamic, investor-friendly city.
Yet the roads she inherited remain potholed, informal settlements are still underserviced, and water and electricity systems limp from crisis to crisis, with no lasting reforms.
Joseph Uapingene promised to put service delivery at the centre, focusing on infrastructure maintenance, land delivery and financial stability.
His tenure was anchored in the language of budgets – tightening spending, adjusting tariffs, cleaning the books. But residents continued to complain about rising water costs, shrinking electricity units and stalled land-servicing programmes.
Queen Kamati came with a technocratic vision: thoughtful urban planning, digital transformation, global partnerships and modernised service delivery.
Yet the lived experience of most residents scarcely reflects a leap into a “smart city”.
Road edges crumble, drainage systems clog when it rains, and the same water shortages return each year because the core infrastructure remains neglected.
The fifth mayor, Ndeshihafela Larandja, promised action over rhetoric, measurable progress over grand speeches and a focus on basic services, housing and informal settlement upgrades.
Increasing remuneration
But the problems she inherits are the same problems her predecessors failed to solve, because the machinery beneath the mayoral chain has not changed.
If there is one area where Windhoek’s councillors have shown remarkable efficiency, it is in improving their own remuneration.
In 2021, The Namibian reported that the City’s mayor was set to earn more than N$70 000 per month, about N$5 000 more than previous mayors, with an annual allowance approaching N$850 000.
Ordinary councillors were already earning around N$30 000 per month and New Era reported that their total monthly earnings – once sitting allowances were added – could reach over N$40 000.
Though these numbers were not specific to Windhoek alone, they reflected the upward trend in councillor compensation while service delivery stagnated.
Put plainly, councillor earnings grew faster than the City’s ability to fix pipes, tar roads, or deliver serviced land. Residents watched their tariffs climb – water, electricity, waste – while those meant to manage the crisis upgraded their pay packets with far more ease than they improved neighbourhoods.
As if nature were not happy with this status quo, the floods over the years have claimed more lives than ever.
One Africa reported that in 2022, five homeless men sleeping under a bridge near Game Stores in the Northern Industrial Area were swept away, while NBC quoted the City of Windhoek's Disaster Risk Management Division, confirming three fatalities in just one night of heavy rain in February this year.
Runaway tariffs
And in the midst of all this stagnation, the City should at least be grateful to Ongos Valley, which is funding the widening and upgrade of Peter Nanyemba Road, formerly Monte Christo Road, one of the few tangible infrastructure improvements Windhoek has seen in years.
Water tariffs were increased by 5% in October 2024, raising the basic 15 mm meter fee from N$49.30 to N$51.77 and pushing consumption charges across all bands; at one stage, the first 6 m³, for example, cost N$24.41 per m³ under the City’s “severe scarcity” regime, according to reporting by The Brief and The Namibian.
Electricity costs have also risen, with a 3.9% increase taking effect on 1 August this year, as reported by Namibian Sun, while the ECB’s 2024 tariff schedule confirms domestic charges of between N$2.17 and N$2.67 per kWh depending on the time of use, according to the Electricity Control Board.
Land delivery, the defining promise of 2020, remains Windhoek's deepest wound.
Informal settlements grow faster than serviced plots, and waiting lists stretch endlessly.
Each mayor arrived with big promises, but are our neighbourhoods any different from what they were five years ago?
In most places across Windhoek, the honest answer, sadly, is no.
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