Time to Clarify Who Really Governs Namibia’s Regions
The controversy surrounding the departure of Chief Regional Officer Kamseb, reportedly following the intervention of Minister of Urban and Rural Development James Sankwasa, has reignited an uncomfortable but necessary national conversation. It is a conversation that extends far beyond one official, one minister or one regional council. It is about whether Namibia’s decentralisation framework has […]
The controversy surrounding the departure of Chief Regional Officer Kamseb, reportedly following the intervention of Minister of Urban and Rural Development James Sankwasa, has reignited an uncomfortable but necessary national conversation. It is a conversation that extends far beyond one official, one minister or one regional council.
It is about whether Namibia’s decentralisation framework has matured into an effective system of governance or whether it remains a structure in which lines of authority are too easily blurred.
This newspaper is not concerned with personalities. Ministers will come and go. Chief Regional Officers will be appointed and replaced. Political leadership will change. What should endure are institutions that function according to clearly defined laws, transparent procedures and sound governance principles.
The events surrounding Kamseb should therefore not be viewed in isolation. They expose a recurring challenge that has surfaced repeatedly throughout Namibia’s post-Independence history, a persistent uncertainty over where ministerial oversight ends and where the authority of regional councils and their professional administrators begins.
The Regional Councils Act establishes regional councils as elected institutions entrusted with promoting development and delivering services closer to the people. They are meant to identify local priorities and make decisions that reflect the needs of their communities.
