Elections 2020: Think Local and Act National

CITIZEN NAHAS ANGULATHE REGIONAL COUNCIL and local authority election season is in full swing.

The supplementary registration of voters took place from 7 to 15 September and, according to the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s calendar, the nomination of candidates by political formations will be between 29 September and 16 October. The nomination of independent candidates must be received on 14 October. Special category voting takes place on 23 November, and voters are set to go to the polls on 25 November.

Article 102 of the Namibian Constitution establishes the regional and local governments in Namibia, and article 108 provides for the powers of the regional councils. Regional councils exercise executive powers within their regions and have the power to raise revenue and to elect members to the National Council. Local authorities have the power to make by-laws or regulations.

Although the powers of regional councils are exercised under the watchful eye of regional governors and their power to raise revenue is limited, they are organs of state that ordinary citizens relate to. It is important, therefore, for candidates to be versed in the needs of local communities. Regional and local government authorities are in daily contact with people at grassroots level.

The current state of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic recession suggests there is an urgent need to reset developmental priorities. Political players should start to think local while acting national. The lockdowns imposed because of the pandemic have demonstrated the imperative need to strengthen regional councils and local authorities.

On the economic front, the recession has shown that, by and large, communities have to rely on traditional means of survival. In this regard, regional and local development plans should be designed to ensure the economic resilience of communities.

At regional level, regional councils should identify potential growth points in their regions. The emphasis should be on the modernisation of traditional economies by introducing new technologies and the development of markets.

The ‘weaners’ economy’ of pastoral communities – in which farmers are forced to sell calves because of a lack of grazing in communal areas – should be addressed. Either the communal areas should be expanded or feedlots should be established to be run on a cooperative basis to enable pastoral farmers to produce oxen. Similarly, small stock producers should be given incentives to grow their stocks into large numbers, thus enabling small stock farmers to increase their throughput. Marketing incentives are critical in this regard.

UNTAPPED POTENTIAL

There is great potential among traditional agronomic farmers in the northern regions. Though they depend entirely on rainfed crops, the last agronomic season demonstrated that during periods of good rains these farmers could produce surpluses. Their farming methods, however, need modernisation.

Planting, weeding, harvesting and the post-harvesting marketing of surplus produce need to be addressed. Soil fertility is another area that agricultural extension workers should address. Rural agricultural technologies need to assist agronomic producers to improve their production methods.

At local authority level, the challenges of decent housing and sanitation are well known. Efforts to decongest peri-urban shanty towns will only succeed if done in tandem with rural development. Rural-urban migration stems from a lack of opportunities in rural areas. People migrate to urban areas in search of opportunities. If economic opportunities are created in rural areas, they will stay put in their localities.

A new development paradigm shift is needed. The focus should be on community and rural development. Each local and regional authority should have a development plan that clearly sets out expected outcomes, time frames for implementation, costs of implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The development budget should be allocated in such a way that 50% is allocated to regions and the rest to national priority projects. There should be an agreed formula for allocations to regions. In this way, no region will feel left out.

Voters need to take the regional council and local authority elections seriously. If voters aspire to improve their livelihoods in their localities, they should elect candidates who are competent, ethical and who demonstrate moral leadership.

The elections should not serve as a means of job creation, patronage or rent-seeking. Elect candidates who demonstrate that they are committed to public service. Let the electorate think local but act national.

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