Governor of Khomas Laura McLeod Katjirua has called for officials in the region to be hands-on when it comes to monitoring, supervising and implementing capital projects.
The region has about 112 capital projects, governor McLeod-Katjirua said in her state of the region address on Tuesday.
Most of the projects are Windhoek-based and include the wastewater reclamation project, as well as the construction of an additional hostel facility at the University of Namibia (Unam).
She said a number of projects, including affordable housing and student accommodation for health professionals, were being planned for Windhoek. The Khomas region received N$1.6 billion for the 2020/2021 financial year.
The governor also gave a breakdown of funds allocated to the various directorates within the Khomas Regional Council.
The Office of the President was allocated N$30 million in the current budget, while N$56 million has been allocated to the directorate of home affairs and immigration, while safety and security has been allocated N$87 million.
The finance directorate received N$2.2 million, while education, arts and culture received N$520 million. The health directorate was allocated N$285 million.
“My main problem with this regional health directorate is the Khomas district hospitals come up all the time. It appears in every annual budget but it never takes off. We need to improve on the implementation aspect,” she said.
The governor further implored regional planners and officials involved in the implementation of capital projects, such as the Windhoek High Court headquarters, to pull up their socks, as the project was unnecessarily delayed.
“Although this is just a one-year budget, we, as regional, constituency and community leaders, should take it upon ourselves to liaise with stakeholders to ensure prompt implementation of the budget to the maximum benefits our people, particularly at the grassroots level,” she said.
Katjirua said strategic funding is a key focus area for the City of Windhoek and referred to the soliciting of funds from external markets via commercial banks or financial institutions for the implementation of key projects in line with national development goals.
However, she said, there was a need to transform the existing culture by way of financial prudence, sound planning, budgeting, cooperation between departments and faster information flow. She said the city and all the government offices, ministries and agencies need to make significant strides in fostering a culture of discipline around expenditures, invest in the continuous up-skilling of current staff, and rigorously implement International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) requirements.
– ljason@nepc.com.na