Voters can oust councillors before term expires – Sankwasa

Urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa has warned councillors that winning an election does not guarantee them a full five-year term, as voters can petition for their removal if they fail to perform.Speaking at the ninth congress of the Association of Regional Councils (ARC) in Rundu on Monday, Sankwasa said councillors should not regard their election victories as a shield against public criticism and accountability. “The Regional Councils Act is very clear. If a particular councillor is not performing to the expectation of the voters, the voters need to make a petition to pass a vote of no confidence and then they have by-elections,” he said.“We should never be comfortable with the issue of saying, ‘I am here for the next five years, and there is nothing that the community can tell me,’” the minister added.Sankwasa urged communities to understand their rights and exercise them when elected representatives fail to deliver on their responsibilities. He said Namibian citizens have the “authority” to remove a councillor before the expiry of their term. “The community must be our appointing authority. If they are not able to respond to what they appointed us for, they must have the full right to remove us.”Follow the right stepsDuring the meeting, Sankwasa criticised regional councils for failing to adequately support and oversee local authorities.He challenged regional councils to become more involved in resolving problems within their jurisdictions instead of leaving local authorities to seek assistance directly from central government.Referring to Section 28 of the Regional Councils Act, he said regional councils were required to assist local authorities in carrying out their responsibilities and could recommend ministerial intervention where municipalities were performing poorly.He cited Karasburg, Lüderitz, Katima Mulilo and Ruacana as examples of local authorities that had approached his ministry directly, allegedly without their respective regional councils being aware of the challenges they faced.According to Sankwasa, his ministry had received only one recommendation from a regional council concerning the performance of a local authority, submitted by the ||Kharas Regional Council.Evaluate and assess Turning to the association itself, Sankwasa said the ARC should not hold congresses every five or six years without examining its achievements, identifying unresolved challenges and assessing how effectively it had worked with central government and the ministry.“If you cannot list what you have achieved, then revisit your objectives. Are your objectives measurable, these ones? Or are they just statements which cannot be measured, cannot be evaluated?” he said.Sankwasa also raised concerns about the slow pace of decentralisation.He said regional councils needed to demonstrate their ability to manage existing responsibilities before additional functions could be transferred to them.He argued that their performance in carrying out delegated functions would influence whether government accelerated or delayed the transfer of further powers through devolution.Representatives from all 14 regional councils are expected to elect new ARC office-bearers during the three-day congress, including a president and vice-president, to succeed outgoing ARC president Matengu Simushi and his deputy, Emma Muteka.

Voters can oust councillors before term expires – Sankwasa

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-11-03

Please login to leave a comment

Voters can oust councillors before term expires – Sankwasa

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-11-03

Please login to leave a comment

Subscription Required to Access Content ×

Login

Subscription Required to Access Content