By Chrispin Inambao
WINDHOEK
The six regional councillors representing voters in the Caprivi Region should be given the prerogative to choose the Regional Governor from their ranks and not the current arrangement whereby the governor is chosen elsewhere and foisted on the electorate.
This was said by Swapo Party Councillor for Sibbinda, Felix Mukupi, who feels there has been lack of transparency in the appointment of the regional political head since the former governor, John Mabuku of DTA, fled to Botswana in 1998 following a secessionist uprising.
Since Mabuku’s flight Katima Urban Constituency Councillor, Bernard Sibalatani, was given the nod to take over as regional governor and he was picked again after the last election.
Mukupi said Caprivi lags behind regions such as Kavango in terms of development projects in agriculture and road infrastructure because councillors in the Kavango Region are allowed to freely choose a governor who is development-minded.
“According to the Regional Authorities Act, councillors are supposed to choose a regional governor but this is not the case in Caprivi where he is being chosen elsewhere,” he said, though he was reluctant to state the name or place where the appointment is being made.
He also accused the incumbent of having failed to convene meetings to weigh development issues between regional councillors and the Town Council.
Mukupi says if the councillors were given the opportunity to pick a governor from among their ranks, the position would be made competitive and whoever is picked would perform to his or her best, knowing that if they fail to deliver they would be replaced.
But the present state of affairs only breeds complacency and lack of development which could be seen all over the region where, despite the fact that Caprivi has many perennial rivers, the majority of its people do not have access to piped water, while roads are not tarred.
And despite having a great potential to become Namibia’s breadbasket, because of its arable land and reliable sources of water, this has remained largely delusional, said the outspoken Swapo Party councillor who feels it is time for leadership change.
A Government source who did not want to be named, blamed the entire Regional Council for not being active in implementing a raft of Government development projects in Caprivi.
The source noted that despite the Government releasing millions of dollars for development projects in that region, vast sums are being returned to treasury because the money normally given on a quarterly basis is not being used for the purpose it was allocated.
Figures cited from the Medium Term Expenditure Framework by the source indicate a regional budget for Caprivi of N$124.4 million inclusive of N$4.1 million for the building of the gravel road from Ngoma to Muyako, and N$7 million for the construction of the road connecting Kongola to the immigration point along the Zambian border.
Others are N$2 million for the construction of the Kopano Quarantine Camp, N$7.7 million for rural poverty reduction, N$1.2 million for rural electrification, N$20 million for community tourism development, while N$6.2 million is meant for aquaculture farming.
For this financial year the regional total for Kavango is N$227.3 million that includes the N$91.7 million budgeted for the upgrading of the Rundu-Elundu Road, while N$247 million is earmarked for development projects for the Karas Region this financial year.
For comparison’s sake, Omusati has a regional budget of N$113.7 million for this year.
Another official concurred with the initial source saying development suffers and service delivery is “worrisome” in Caprivi, where divisive squabbling seems the order of the day.
Though the different line ministries should spearhead development, it is entirely up to regional councillors to ensure development projects are executed and the funds are utilised.
The six regional councillors elected at the last elections in 2004 that should have the privilege to elect the regional governor of Caprivi Region are Peter Mwala (Kabbe), Leonard Mwilima (Katima Rural), Bernard Sibalatani (Katima Urban), Mukupi (Sibbinda), Dorothy Kabula (Linyanti) and Moffat Sileze of Kongola Constituency, he says.
“Some people cannot buy cars because of the poor state of our roads,” he said, while other routes such as the dust road linking Linyanti to Lizauli is in ruins and a danger to motorists.
“The Swapo Party congress is around the corner and the people are craving for tangible results on the ground because we cannot keep on making promises saying there is something in the five-year development plan,” said the businessman who is also a Swapo Party politician.
Frans Nghitila, the spokesman in the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development said in terms of Section 18 of the Act concerning Regional Councils “the governor is supposed to be elected by his/her fellow councillors during the first meeting of the Regional Council,” after they have been elected.
Mukupi was also of the opinion that regional development plans that form part of the overall National Development Plan should be implemented during the regional councillor’s term of office so that at the end of their term they have something to show to the electorate.
Because implementation normally takes time, he noted, when the new councillors are elected they usually take credit for development projects that were initiated by their predecessors and the electorate are usually under the impression that the previous councillor was ineffective.
And Mukupi feels service delivery could improve vastly if councillors elect the governor.