CoD slams Govt over lax village councils

GOVERNMENT has failed to carry out its oversight function and is encouraging poor service delivery on local-authority level through lack of support for village councils, an opposition party alleges.

Tsudao Gurirab of the Congress of Democrats (CoD) said administration at most village councils had disintegrated and residents of villages like Bethanie, Koës or Berseba in southern Namibia suffered from lack of service delivery. Gurirab tabled a motion in the National Assembly last week, requesting the House to debate what he called the deteriorating governance at village councils and to come up with recommendations to improve the situation.Village councils were poor because they were situated in “the most poor and economically depressed areas” in the country and mainly in the Hardap and Karas Regions, Gurirab said.They were unable to raise sufficient funds from residents for water and electricity provision, because the residents themselves were also mostly poor.As a result the village councils were entitled to Government subsidies.”The village councils, which serve the citizens at the most basic level, clearly appear to be the weakest link in our system of government at sub-national level,” Gurirab charged.”Progressive legislation” was in place like the Local Authorities Act and the Trust Fund for Regional Development and Equity Provisions Act of 2000, “but instead Government has elected to sit on its hands and surrendered these little towns and hamlets to decay and eventual metamorphosis into cesspools,” the CoD politician criticised.Members of the National Assembly did not know whether funds allocated to village councils were spent for the right purposes, since most of their annual financial reports had not been brought before the House for years, he said Reports for Koës have been outstanding since 1999, while those for Bethanie and Leonardville have not been submitted in the last five years.Gurirab accused Government of encouraging poor governance and service delivery to communities by failing in its oversight duty to check on village councils.The debate on this motion will start next week Tuesday.Gurirab tabled a motion in the National Assembly last week, requesting the House to debate what he called the deteriorating governance at village councils and to come up with recommendations to improve the situation.Village councils were poor because they were situated in “the most poor and economically depressed areas” in the country and mainly in the Hardap and Karas Regions, Gurirab said.They were unable to raise sufficient funds from residents for water and electricity provision, because the residents themselves were also mostly poor.As a result the village councils were entitled to Government subsidies.”The village councils, which serve the citizens at the most basic level, clearly appear to be the weakest link in our system of government at sub-national level,” Gurirab charged.”Progressive legislation” was in place like the Local Authorities Act and the Trust Fund for Regional Development and Equity Provisions Act of 2000, “but instead Government has elected to sit on its hands and surrendered these little towns and hamlets to decay and eventual metamorphosis into cesspools,” the CoD politician criticised.Members of the National Assembly did not know whether funds allocated to village councils were spent for the right purposes, since most of their annual financial reports had not been brought before the House for years, he said Reports for Koës have been outstanding since 1999, while those for Bethanie and Leonardville have not been submitted in the last five years.Gurirab accused Government of encouraging poor governance and service delivery to communities by failing in its oversight duty to check on village councils.The debate on this motion will start next week Tuesday.