Rural development failures drive urban crisis, Swartbooi says
• Windhoek and other urban centres have become pull factors
Nikanor NangoloWindhoek
Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi says rural neglect is forcing communities to migrate to towns, where local councillors are left to manage challenges beyond their mandate and without funding.
Swartbooi told the media during a press conference on Tuesday that regional and local authorities have been starved of resources, leaving Namibians poorer, turning landlessness and homelessness into defining features of society.
“A huge part of the problems facing local authorities, including the mushrooming of informal settlements, stems from the lack of a well-thought-out rural development strategy,” he said.
Swartbooi said if one is elected as a Windhoek councillor, their responsibility is to their jurisdiction and their people alone.
He said since the central government has failed in rural development, Windhoek and other urban centres have become pull factors.
Swartbooi added that local councillors are now burdened with national problems they did not create and cannot solve.
“That is why informal settlement issues will never be resolved, because unless the root problem of creating rural opportunities is addressed, internal migration to cities will continue,” Swartbooi said.
Shallow understanding
He stressed that local authorities have no legal mandate to restrict people’s movement.
“Only central government has the power to impose restrictions and address migration through policy. But it has failed to do so,” he said.
He asked when the last time was that a massive job-creating factory employing 10 000 to 15 000 people was established in Okakarara, Oshakati, Oluno, Kongola, Katima Mulilo, or Rundu?
“The answer is never, and this is where the ministry has fatally failed,” Swartbooi said. “Check the minister’s vocabulary. There is no mention of rural development. None. Instead, rural development receives a paltry N$20–50 million, possibly N$100 million this year, funds usually allocated to regional councils for so-called ‘projects’ such as buying piglets, chickens, or goats. That is their shallow understanding of rural development,” he said.
He emphasised that real rural development requires an integrated, whole-of-government approach that creates lasting opportunities in remote areas, not just roads, but also deliberate agricultural and economic projects that enable young people to thrive where they are.
“Informal settlements cannot become the way of life for a people who only 30 years ago emerged from oppression. The core question is this: how do we fundamentally re-engineer service delivery to society? Namibia has regressed from a middle-income country to a lower-middle-income country. Poverty is eroding the middle class, crushing young professionals who now carry unbearable family burdens and cannot live decent lives. That is what we should be addressing,” Swartbooi said.
Development model
The rural development programme received a budget allocation of N$129.6 million for the 2025/26 financial year.
This includes N$37.05 million for rural sanitation via regional councils (749 ventilated toilets built in 2024/25); N$9.064 million for income and employment-generating self-help projects (175 supported in 2024/25); N$9.7 million for operations and advisory services at rural development centres; and N$37.025 million for construction work at eight rural development centres in Rupara, Masokotwane, Eembaxu, Ogongo, Snyfontein, Gibeon, Ben Hur, and Okashana.
Four months ago, National Council lawmaker Paulus Mbangu also warned that the appropriation bill reinforces a development model biased in favour of urban communities.
During his contribution to the bill in the National Council, Mbangu urged the government to confront this issue.
“The allocations in the current budget appear to be grounded more in historical budgeting practices than in a nuanced understanding of community needs,” he noted.
“For instance, the highest development budget is allocated to the Khomas region, followed closely by the Erongo region. In stark contrast, regions such as Kavango East, Omusati, Ohangwena and Kavango West receive the lowest allocations,” he pointed out.
Mbangu said these imbalances are not just statistics but reflect the unequal opportunities available to citizens.
To illustrate, he noted that the Khomas region alone accounts for a staggering 24% of the total development budget, despite already being far more developed than the rural regions.
“True progress cannot be achieved while entire communities are left behind,” Mbangu said.
“We must advocate for a budget informed by relevant data, one that addresses real needs, and one that leaves no region behind,” he said.
[email protected]
Landless People’s Movement (LPM) leader Bernadus Swartbooi says rural neglect is forcing communities to migrate to towns, where local councillors are left to manage challenges beyond their mandate and without funding.
Swartbooi told the media during a press conference on Tuesday that regional and local authorities have been starved of resources, leaving Namibians poorer, turning landlessness and homelessness into defining features of society.
“A huge part of the problems facing local authorities, including the mushrooming of informal settlements, stems from the lack of a well-thought-out rural development strategy,” he said.
Swartbooi said if one is elected as a Windhoek councillor, their responsibility is to their jurisdiction and their people alone.
He said since the central government has failed in rural development, Windhoek and other urban centres have become pull factors.
Swartbooi added that local councillors are now burdened with national problems they did not create and cannot solve.
“That is why informal settlement issues will never be resolved, because unless the root problem of creating rural opportunities is addressed, internal migration to cities will continue,” Swartbooi said.
Shallow understanding
He stressed that local authorities have no legal mandate to restrict people’s movement.
“Only central government has the power to impose restrictions and address migration through policy. But it has failed to do so,” he said.
He asked when the last time was that a massive job-creating factory employing 10 000 to 15 000 people was established in Okakarara, Oshakati, Oluno, Kongola, Katima Mulilo, or Rundu?
“The answer is never, and this is where the ministry has fatally failed,” Swartbooi said. “Check the minister’s vocabulary. There is no mention of rural development. None. Instead, rural development receives a paltry N$20–50 million, possibly N$100 million this year, funds usually allocated to regional councils for so-called ‘projects’ such as buying piglets, chickens, or goats. That is their shallow understanding of rural development,” he said.
He emphasised that real rural development requires an integrated, whole-of-government approach that creates lasting opportunities in remote areas, not just roads, but also deliberate agricultural and economic projects that enable young people to thrive where they are.
“Informal settlements cannot become the way of life for a people who only 30 years ago emerged from oppression. The core question is this: how do we fundamentally re-engineer service delivery to society? Namibia has regressed from a middle-income country to a lower-middle-income country. Poverty is eroding the middle class, crushing young professionals who now carry unbearable family burdens and cannot live decent lives. That is what we should be addressing,” Swartbooi said.
Development model
The rural development programme received a budget allocation of N$129.6 million for the 2025/26 financial year.
This includes N$37.05 million for rural sanitation via regional councils (749 ventilated toilets built in 2024/25); N$9.064 million for income and employment-generating self-help projects (175 supported in 2024/25); N$9.7 million for operations and advisory services at rural development centres; and N$37.025 million for construction work at eight rural development centres in Rupara, Masokotwane, Eembaxu, Ogongo, Snyfontein, Gibeon, Ben Hur, and Okashana.
Four months ago, National Council lawmaker Paulus Mbangu also warned that the appropriation bill reinforces a development model biased in favour of urban communities.
During his contribution to the bill in the National Council, Mbangu urged the government to confront this issue.
“The allocations in the current budget appear to be grounded more in historical budgeting practices than in a nuanced understanding of community needs,” he noted.
“For instance, the highest development budget is allocated to the Khomas region, followed closely by the Erongo region. In stark contrast, regions such as Kavango East, Omusati, Ohangwena and Kavango West receive the lowest allocations,” he pointed out.
Mbangu said these imbalances are not just statistics but reflect the unequal opportunities available to citizens.
To illustrate, he noted that the Khomas region alone accounts for a staggering 24% of the total development budget, despite already being far more developed than the rural regions.
“True progress cannot be achieved while entire communities are left behind,” Mbangu said.
“We must advocate for a budget informed by relevant data, one that addresses real needs, and one that leaves no region behind,” he said.
[email protected]
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