Lahja Nashuuta
Four local authorities in Kunene are operating without a budget from the urban and rural development ministry for the current financial year.
In essence, the Kunene regional council’s budget for the current financial year is yet to be released, according to officials.
The affected local authorities are Opuwo, Outjo, Kamanjab and Khorixas, while constituencies include Epupa, Opuwo Urban, Opuwo Rural, Sesfontein, Kamanjab, Khorixas and Outjo.
The late approval and release of the budget prevents government entities from initiating procurement processes at the start of the financial year, based on the approved budget.
They blame this situation for their snail’s pace of service delivery, New Era has learned.
For the current financial year, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development received N$1.6 billion, of which N$120 million is earmarked for rural development.
The funds are meant to upgrade and construct sewerage ponds, water infrastructure, electricity supply and road networks in municipalities, towns, villages and settlements.
The funds are also meant to service land.
The focus of this programme is more on housing and sanitation, since Namibia is faced with a nationwide housing problem.
However, with six months left until the end of the financial year, the ministry has yet to release the funds to regional and local authorities to start implementing the programmes earmarked for this financial year.
Most of the councils revealed to New Era that they are currently faced with several challenges such as delays in project planning processes, as well as delays in procurement processes. In some towns, projects have completely been abandoned.
Kunene
New Era recently visited the Kunene region.
It is a region in a service delivery dilemma, as its N$262 million is yet to be released.
The ministry is yet to explain why this is the case, as efforts to get comment from minister Erastus Uutoni and his deputy Evelin !Nawases-Taeyele have been fruitless.
Kunene regional council acting director for planning and development Charles Uarije told New Era during an interview that all the projects earmarked to be executed in the current financial year have not taken off, while others carried over from the previous financial year are on hold due to a lack of funds.
He revealed the Kunene regional council’s budget has not yet been released – and most of the socio-economic development projects earmarked for this year have yet to be implemented.
“It is a challenge because local authorities have to wait for a couple of months for the responsible ministry to release the funds for us to start with the procurement and implementation of the programme,” he said.
Uarije added the delay in the release of the funds is one of the reasons most of the local authorities are forced to return money meant for regional development back to the Treasury when the financial period lapses.
“Whatever the delay on the national level [is], it will delay the implementation at the regional level. We are given a short period to implement – and, in most cases, before you start with the implementation, the period lapses, and you must return the remaining funds for you to receive another budget,” he lamented.
Budget
He said this year’s budget will be used for feasibility studies, planning, surveying, design and documentation, as well as constructing service infrastructure that includes water, electricity, sewers and roads.
Uarije further maintained the region is failing to deliver on housing, as the resources allocated by the government are not sufficient to service enough land, especially for the marginalised community and low-income earners.
He maintained the government needs to make provision for additional funding because, “What we are receiving on an annual basis in comparison to the need on the ground is not justified”.
“More funds need to be availed, so that we can service and avail serviced land to the people, instead of giving marginalised communities serviced land. Most of our locations need sanitation facilities and water pipelines, which most people cannot afford – and the government needs to subsidise those services,” he continued.
Not alone
Sharing similar sentiments was Opuwo Urban constituency councillor Ueutjerevi Ngunaihe, who said the delay has hampered the construction of the road network and the servicing of land in the town.
“All our settlements in Opuwo Rural are seated on unserviced land and lack sanitation. This is because our budget never reaches us on time – and besides that, it is not sufficient to address the needs of the region, which is home to 120 762 inhabitants,” Ngunaihe said.
He said, currently, each constituency in Kunene receives an operation budget of N$250 000, which the constituency office uses to assist vulnerable communities that are struggling with issues such as food or funds to enrol their children in schools.
“Our budget from [the] last financial year was used to support the seven small businesses, assist 17 students from our marginalised communities, and also assist in building 10 toilets for the elderly in Omakange No.2, as well as the parents of children living with disabilities,” the pastor-turned-politician said.
Ngunaihe proposed there is a need for the government to table the budget at the beginning of the year to give ample time for the regions to execute.
“We are currently pushing for a motion in Parliament to have the budget approved by the beginning of February instead of April,” said Khorixas constituency councillor and member of the National Council, Sebastian Ignatius !Gobs.
“The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development is taking a long time to release the budget. The budget is already approved. Things are not moving because there is no money to start implementing those projects.
“You are also required to submit the progress report on the current projects – and before you release that, the ministry will not release your funds. The process is cumbersome and delays us from delivering service to the peoplee.” !Gobs said.
Meanwhile, Kamanjab Village Council economic development officer Beauty Aebes shared the same concern, saying although the budget is supposed to reach the local authority by 1 July, they only received the funds in September.
“It is a challenge because there is not enough time to implement the programmes, and in cases where the staff have to get increment, it means we have to backpay them every year,” Aebes said.
I reached out for a comment on Tuesday !Nawases-Taeyele could not explain the reasons for the delay in the release of the local authorities fund but promised to consult and revert at a later stage.
Perennial
Last year, Kunene Regional Council said it encountered serious communications challenges with its regional stakeholders.
The chief reason was that most capital projects implemented by line ministries are coordinated from their respective head offices in Windhoek.
As a result, the council returned N$56 million to the fiscus.
That year, the region was allocated a total of N$197 million across 16 sectors in the development budget towards the implementation of capital projects for 2022/2023.
By the time of going to print, the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development did not respond to an array of questions sent to them.