EDITORIAL: Governors must justify their appointments
Since the 2014 constitutional amendments, the role of regional governors has grown increasingly murky. Reduced now to being mere “eyes and ears of the president” - whatever that nebulous phrase means - governors no longer wield the developmental clout they once held.
Before those amendments, spearheaded by then prime minister Hage Geingob and his legal protégé Sacky Shanghala, governors were at the centre of local governance. They led regional councils and, crucially, were elected councillors accountable to the people. Today, they are cherry-picked and parachuted into regions they did not campaign for - imposed rather than elected. It smells suspiciously like a jobs-for-comrades arrangement.
Yet, despite the flawed process that delivers them to office, governors carry an important national duty. The weight of their appointments must be felt in action, not just title. Namibia’s regions face deeply rooted challenges: chronic drought in Kunene, alarming rates of teenage pregnancy in the Kavango regions, malnutrition in Omaheke, and crippling unemployment in the south.
This is no time for ribbon-cutting ceremonialism or comfort in air-conditioned offices. Governors must lead with conviction, visibility, and results. Taxpayers fund their salaries, and in return, the public deserves impact.
Let this not be a case of the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem - which, legend has it, later returned alone expecting the same fanfare, only to be met with stones. Power is not worship. Appointments are not coronations.
Power and praise are fleeting. Real leadership lies in delivery. Governors must not confuse their roles with sainthood. They are not messiahs, but public servants, entrusted with the rare opportunity to shape lives at the grassroots. We expect less pomp, more progress. We wish all 14 well - but with a firm reminder: results, not rhetoric, will be their true report card.
Before those amendments, spearheaded by then prime minister Hage Geingob and his legal protégé Sacky Shanghala, governors were at the centre of local governance. They led regional councils and, crucially, were elected councillors accountable to the people. Today, they are cherry-picked and parachuted into regions they did not campaign for - imposed rather than elected. It smells suspiciously like a jobs-for-comrades arrangement.
Yet, despite the flawed process that delivers them to office, governors carry an important national duty. The weight of their appointments must be felt in action, not just title. Namibia’s regions face deeply rooted challenges: chronic drought in Kunene, alarming rates of teenage pregnancy in the Kavango regions, malnutrition in Omaheke, and crippling unemployment in the south.
This is no time for ribbon-cutting ceremonialism or comfort in air-conditioned offices. Governors must lead with conviction, visibility, and results. Taxpayers fund their salaries, and in return, the public deserves impact.
Let this not be a case of the donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem - which, legend has it, later returned alone expecting the same fanfare, only to be met with stones. Power is not worship. Appointments are not coronations.
Power and praise are fleeting. Real leadership lies in delivery. Governors must not confuse their roles with sainthood. They are not messiahs, but public servants, entrusted with the rare opportunity to shape lives at the grassroots. We expect less pomp, more progress. We wish all 14 well - but with a firm reminder: results, not rhetoric, will be their true report card.
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Namibian Sun
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