Zambezi Regional Council chairperson Matengu Simushi has strongly warned minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa against a proposed bill seeking to significantly reduce the powers of regional councils.
This follows Sankwasa recently tabling the regional council amendment bill in the National Assembly, proposing the reduction of councils’ powers when it comes to appointing chief executive and chief regional officers.
In his bill motivation, Sankwasa says councils are political bodies that should only focus on addressing issues affecting communities and leave administrative issues to the ministry.
The bill seeks to increase ministerial oversight of regional councils, including the powers to suspend or remove elected councillors.
The bill further proposes that councils should report to regional governors.
“Sankwasa did not engage the Association of Regional Councils, and by law you are required to do so, which is headed by me as its sitting president.
“On how these amendments would affect the work of the regional councils, I will go ‘kwasa Sankwasa’, I am the president of the association. There is no way we will allow this,” Simushi told The Namibian yesterday.
Simushi recalled that the amendment draft bill, which they had agreed on with former minister Erastus Uutoni in 2022, was supposed to be submitted to the Cabinet.
“When Sankwasa came into office he went to go check what we agreed on with Uutoni, and now he wants to change it to suit his personal interests – to reduce the powers of councils and the chairperson of the council,” he said.
Simushi said he was supposed to be consulted and therefore invited all chairpersons, regional councils and members of the management committee to deliberate on the bill.
He warned Sankwasa that National Council members would reject such a bill.
Simushi said the council is currently in the process of decentralising functions of government at regional level by following the Decentralistion Enabling Act 33 of 2000.
“Those sections are not affecting the council. Why should he amend them? He wants to amend sections that do not affect the day-to-day work of the council, but wants to remove the powers of council.
“There is no way a minister can appoint a chief executive and chief regional officer. They are appointed by the council,” he said.
‘FAILED’
Sankwasa is accusing Simushi of failing to govern the region by “allowing corruption to roam in the councils”.
“He is irrelevant in regional and local government affairs as he has dismally failed even to manage a small region like the Zambezi, where fraud and mismanagement is rampant,” the minister says.
Sankwasa is further accusing Simushi of promoting corruption within the Zambezi Regional Council, where he claims senior officials commit fraud and get arrested by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Simushi could not be reached for comment on Sankwasa’s allegations yesterday.
Responding to the bill in the National Assembly two weeks ago, official opposition leader Imms Nashinge called for the rejection of the bill.
“Regional councillors are elected by citizens and should not have to report to any central government authority to execute their mandate, as this undermines the essence of decentralisation,” he said.
In response to Sankwasa’s allegations of allowing corruption, Simushi on Monday said the matter at hand has nothing to do with corruption, adding that Sankwasa is deviating from the real issue.
“These people have been arrested, meaning the law is taking its course, and it has nothing to do with me. I am not corruption, but the president of the association. Sankwasa should not change the bill [former minister] Uutoni tabled in the parliament previously. Everything was fine. Why change it? And I think it’s about five sections,” he said.
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