Prime minister Elijah Ngurare has warned local authorities against relying on municipal tariffs and government transfers to finance development.
He urges them to find innovative ways to generate revenue.
In a speech delivered on his behalf by the office’s executive director Petrus Sindumba at the launch of the Rundu Town Council Commercial Services (RTCCS) company, Ngurare said local authorities are under growing pressure to provide housing, serviced land, roads, water, sanitation and waste management while financial resources remain limited.
“The solution cannot always be to increase municipal tariffs or depend increasingly on transfers from the central government,” he says.
He says councils should instead broaden their revenue bases, make better use of municipal assets, attract investment and pursue viable commercial opportunities.
Ngurare says Rundu has opportunities in property development, tourism, agriculture, agro-processing, logistics, renewable energy and waste management, which could generate revenue, attract investment and create jobs.
The prime minister warned that public assets should not simply remain on a balance sheet but be turned into productive investments that create jobs and generate sustainable revenue.
“RTCCS should therefore identify commercially viable opportunities that build upon the comparative advantages of Rundu and the Kavango East region.
Land can become a commercial development, an industrial park, a tourism facility, an agro-processing centre or another investment capable of creating employment and generating sustainable revenue,” Ngurare says.
He urges RTCCS to work with the private sector through partnerships and joint ventures rather than crowding out existing businesses.
Ngurare, however, cautions that the company should not put profit ahead of its public responsibility.
Rundu town’s strategic executive for community services Francisca Kupembona at the launch said the company would help the council diversify its income sources and support delivery of municipal services.
She says the town has for years struggled with revenue collection from unpaid bills owed by residents and businesses.
She says Rundu’s rapidly growing population has also increased demand for services.
The council’s own 2024 annual report shows that its debt book increased from about N$345.8 million in June 2023 to N$427.6 million in June 2024.
Rundu-based activist Frans Moyo yesterday said the Rundu Town Council relied heavily on municipal tariffs and has lately been putting pressure on residents to pay their bills.
He says, currently, the town council does not have any other means of income if not water.
Moyo says the town council could invest in tourism to generate money from tourists visiting the town.
“They must build accommodation that they are fully in charge of, build museums and take its land seriously because I can sell land without the council’s intervention.
They must claim back the land,” he says.
Rundu’s Kaisosi resident Poulus Shampopi says the town council could generate additional revenue by collecting payments from residents for their plots.
He says many residents do not pay for their plots because the amounts they are required to pay are unaffordable.
“Currently, people do not pay for their plots because there is no fixed price.
If they can put a fixed price of at least N$30 a month, they can make money from it, looking at how many houses Rundu has,” he says.
