A Local authority councillor from Outapi has accused the town’s leadership of undertaking an unauthorised trip to Windhoek, without informing the full council.
Outapi mayor Victorina Neingo, chief executive Ananias Nashilongo and management committee chairperson Gerson Dumeni reportedly travelled to the capital without disclosing the purpose of their visit to fellow councillors.
According to two internal circulars issued by Neingo and Nashilongo dated 7 April, the trio was in Windhoek from 7 to 10 April.
However, the circulars did not indicate the purpose of the trip or specify a destination.
According to the daily subsistence allowance payable for travel in Namibia, each of the three qualified to claim N$6 440 each or a collective N$25 700 for the entire trip.
In one of the circulars, Neingo informed staff of the chief executive’s absence, stating: “Please be informed that Mr Nashilongo M Ananias, chief executive officer, will be on official mission from 7 to 10 April 2026. Ms EN Ekandjo, senior manager of local economic development, will act on his behalf during that period.”
Affirmative Repositioning councillor Petrus Shiweva claims the rest of the council only became aware of the trip through social media after seeing photos of the delegation posted on the City of Windhoek’s social media pages.
“We only learned about the trip when we saw photos on the City of Windhoek social media page,” he says.
Shiweva wants to know who authorised the trip and why it was not discussed by the full council beforehand.
“The question is: Who authorised that trip? Where was it discussed and what prompted the urgency of such a meeting?” he asks.
Shiweva further alleges this was not an isolated incident, claiming a similar incident took place late last year.
“This is not the first time. On 12 December 2025, they did the same and I wrote to the minister of urban and rural development seeking clarity on that, but the minister did not respond.
How long are we going to run the council like this?” he asks.
Neingo did not respond to questions sent to her yesterday, although she promised to respond.
Dumeni said only Neingo, Nashilongo and the town’s spokesperson can speak on behalf the council.
Nashilongo did not respond to a text message sent to him yesterday.
Meanwhile, the City of Windhoek has confirmed on social media that it hosted the Outapi Town Council delegation for a two-day benchmarking visit focused on crime prevention and informal trading management.
“The City of Windhoek this week hosted the Outapi Town Council delegation for a two-day benchmarking visit.
As sister cities, the teams focused on learning how Windhoek manages informal trading, open markets, vendor revenue collection, and the use of CCTV cameras to fight crime,” the city says.
The delegation, according to the city, explored security and urban management systems, including a presentation on surveillance technology and a tour of the command centre where closed circuit television cameras and drones are used to monitor crime-prone areas.
The visit also included engagements with transport and planning officials on parking revenue systems.
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