Regarding a strongly felt organisational goal of public service, human capital development should be most evident at the local and regional levels of government, as these are the areas in society where people’s most basic needs should be addressed. High levels of underdeveloped communities, particularly in remote and rural areas, mean that there is often a heavy dependence on government support. There are many policy directives that emphasise the need for a strong sense of service delivery in local – regional government. These include the provisions in the Local Authority Act section 30 and the Regional Council Act section 28 stating that local and regional government should ensure the provision of services to local-regional communities in a sustainable manner and that services must be provided impartially, fairly, equitably, and without bias. Despite these provisions and other legislative prescriptions regarding a service orientation, there are many views that suggest that, currently, local–regional government falls short as far as service orientation is concerned.
The tensions in the political–administrative interface highlight one of the key challenges to local and regional governments performing their tasks effectively and efficiently. (Namibian Sun, 12 September 2025) This implies a real concern as it is imperative for administrations and political leaders to be a cohesive unit with a common goal as far as service to the people is concerned. (Code of Conduct of members, Section 3)
Strong external cross-pressures are exerted by various users of the public service, creating a common enemy. In the case of local/regional governments, a strong system of accountability works effectively to ensure that municipalities and regional councils are constantly reminded and held accountable regarding their obligations. The Local and Regional Councils Act provides for the notion that councils should work together with all sectors of society, including citizens, businesses, and labor, in implementing municipal and regional strategic plans.
It is imperative that good human resource and career development practices, which maximise human potential, must be cultivated. This goes to the core of what human capital development should achieve: maximizing the potential of the employees who make up local/regional government organisations by ensuring that there are sufficient career paths for those who contribute to organisational objectives. There are, however, too many concerns expressed in this regard, suggesting that, once again, local and regional councils in Namibia might be falling short. According to studies, problems experienced by municipalities and regional councils include “procedures followed when appointing staff members”. When procedures are not correctly applied during the appointment of new employees, it can be concluded that an incorrect person may lead to ineffective performance. Madumo (2015:163) suggests that” often, municipal officials fail to perform, because they do not expect any punitive action against them”. This once again highlights the potential problems with the political–administrative interface and the impact of political influence on human resource issues, which can hinder local and regional councils from achieving their goals. Local and regional councils are unique as decision making takes place, from a constitutional and legislative framework, at various levels; and in a local and regional context it can be divided into political management, reflecting the significant role of elected political office bearers as well as ordinary members of local communities as well as community organisations in local and regional decision making on the one hand and the operational management of the local and regional government’s functional unit as a day to day operational entity, on the other hand. Tensions in the political-administrative interface, and indeed, various dimensions of this relationship, are some of the significant challenges facing local and regional governments in Namibia. (New Era 15 September 2025). While active citizenry is a complement to the role of political representative, it is important in the management of local and regional councils. It is imperative to remember that there should still be a significant reliance on the knowledge, experience and skills of suitably appointed officials to ensure that the local and regional councils perform their daily operational activities at the operational level.
In conclusion, thus, as far as the Namibian local and regional government environment is concerned, there appear to be established guidelines in place from a legislative framework to ensure a human capital core that would enable local and regional councils to function effectively. If these guidelines are not applied, it creates a problem in achieving the organisation’s goals. In order to improve the local and regional councils in Namibia, empirical research would have to be conducted to determine the link between human capital and organisational strategy in a local and regional context, specifically.
*Reverend Jan A Scholtz is the former chairperson of the //Kharas Regional Council and former! Nami#nus constituency councillor. He holds a Diploma in Theology, B-Theo (SA), a Diploma in Youth Work and Development from the University of Zambia (UNZA), as well as a Diploma in Education III (KOK) BA (HED) from UNISA.