16 local authorities without CEOs

Namibia currently has 16 local authorities operating without a substantive chief executive officer (CEO).

This was confirmed by Namibian Association of Local Authority Officials (Nalao) president Moses Matyayi.

Some of these local authorities, such as Groofontein and Henties Bay, have been without a substantive CEO for over two years.

The Local Authorities Act of 1992 mandates the establishment and administration of local authorities in Namibia, placing CEOs at the heart of municipal operations.

However, many towns have been operating without substantive CEOs for extended periods, largely due to suspensions, dismissals, or delayed recruitment processes.

Minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa has labelled the ongoing situation as a failure of the political leadership of these local authorities, and has pledged to deal with the situation before the upcoming local authority and regional elections.

“For a local authority to remain without a substantive CEO over a long time, it only means one thing: The political leadership of that local authority has failed the nation,” he said last week.

He said it was “legally incorrect” to head a local authority in an acting capacity for more than six months.

“Either the given local authority has something to hide, so they want to put a person who is in an acting capacity, who becomes vulnerable, and they will be doing whatever they want and not what is administratively correct,” he said.

“We have elections in November, and we cannot go to elections with local authorities that are not properly managed. That’s the agenda. It will be addressed.”

The minister said the situation has not been dealt with as he has only been in office since March.

“I am aware of the situation, that some local authorities have been without a CEO for four years. Some CEOs are also being removed without a genuine issue of misconduct, just on a political whim,” he said.

Sankwasa highlighted Henties Bay, Grootfontein, Stampriet and Maltahöhe as the most problematic local authorities as far as leadership matters are concerned.

Nalao has warned that the absence of permanent leadership has weakened the strategic direction, financial oversight, and service delivery capacity of the affected towns.

“The need for leadership at the administrative level is a national imperative. The filling of the CEO role is critical to the developmental advancement of not only the local authorities sector, but the nation at large,” Matyayi says.

He says some councils have yet to recover from past decisions to illegally suspend or dismiss CEOs.

According to Nalao, the impact of having no substantive CEO goes beyond leadership gaps, it threatens the effective implementation of council decisions, policy enforcement, and staff morale.

“Such organisations may lose focus of their strategic imperative, since there is lack of a strategic driver for an organisational strategy, hence, these institutions may fail to implement decisions undertaken by the council, rendering the institution ineffective in the execution of its mandate,” Matyayi says.

He warns that demoralised staff and career apathy are becoming common at these municipalities.

“We have observed that the organisational culture of affected local government institutions is affected negatively while issues of governance compliance are ignored, therefore contributing to eroding the functionality of the institution,” he said.

Chairperson of the Henties Bay management committee Michael Skini last week said the town has not been negatively affected since suspending its CEO, Elizabeth Coetzee, in October 2023.

“The position of the CEO is not vacant for now, it’s only that the substantive CEO is still on suspension pending the outcome of the disciplinary process currently underway,” he said.

He did not indicate when the council would resolve the matter.

Lüderitz mayor Phil Balhao says the town is looking for a visionary person to lead it.

The town has attracted investment attention in recent years as a hub for the country’s green hydrogen and oil and gas investments.

“We are very anxious to fill that position, because we need accountable leadership and somebody with vision. In such an important time like now for Lüderitz, we need somebody who is massively capable to take this institution and town forward,” he said.

“We look forward to finally having a CEO who could basically take over the reins again and to work with the council in all of our efforts to prepare Lüderitz for the upcoming industrialisation.”

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