EDITORIAL: Addressing local authority squabbles

The various leadership squabbles within the structures of local authorities across the country continue to suffocate residents due to the diminishing levels of service delivery.If you look closely, most of the towns where fights exist between politicians and management are plagued by perpetual socio-economic challenges, which have since relegated servanthood to communities irrelevant.In most of these jurisdictions, the mushrooming of informal settlements, mainly due to urbanisation, continues to increase exponentially because those tasked with ensuring that the infrastructure in their areas meets the demands of the communities are too busy settling personal scores with their political adversaries.Also, now that decentralisation has been rolled out, communities are at the full mercy of the local authorities.As per the 2012 Institute for Public Policy Research report on Governance Challenges at Regional and Local Level, there is a need for a national review of decentralisation with a view to speeding it up, setting clear targets, and gearing the policy to enhance accountability and improve service delivery.But despite this, communities in the regions continue to get the short end of the stick because of officials who are failing to execute their mandate. This is primarily due to the fact that they know they will not face any consequences for poor performance.The lack of mediation bodies and tribunals for local authorities also exacerbates the situation because officials have no dispute resolution mechanisms in place.Due to this, squabbles, in some instances, last for the entire duration of the term.

EDITORIAL: Addressing local authority squabbles

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-12

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EDITORIAL: Addressing local authority squabbles

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-12

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