– Travelling 733km to release salaries
The Kunene Regional Council’s 2026/27 budget remains frozen since March, leaving the council unable to pay for basic utilities and bringing its operational and capital projects to a standstill.
The only arrangement made so far is for the payment of staff salaries, with two council finance officials travelling to Windhoek every month to facilitate the release of funds.
July salaries have been paid, while an arrangement for August salaries has also been made.
The funding freeze and blocked budget allocations stem from a legal dispute over the reinstatement of chief regional officer (CRO) George Kamseb, which resulted in staff salaries going unpaid for a while.
The council approached the High Court seeking to review and set aside Sankwasa’s decision to withhold government funding and block the reallocation of its budget.
It has since agreed to remove Kamseb from office.
Council chairperson Western Muharukua told The Namibian in a recent interview that the council is still awaiting the Supreme Court’s pronouncement on the CRO matter.
“Since March till now, budget allocation is still frozen. We are unable to pay for our utilities.
The only thing we managed was to arrange for staff salaries, but as we speak, all operational budgets and capital projects are at a standstill,” he says.
Muharukua described the dispute over the CRO as politically motivated, arguing that the council had appointed a deputy director as acting CRO, but the minister continues to withhold funding.
Sankwasa has denied the claims, saying a legally recognised accounting officer must be appointed before funds can be released.
“Why do I say so? The ||Kharas Regional Council CRO is also a deputy director, and Otjiwarongo is similar.
So why is Kunene being treated differently?” Muharukua asks.
Meanwhile, questions sent to executive director Wilhelmine Shivute at the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development last Friday on how the council’s utilities will be addressed and when the withheld funds will be released remain unanswered.
