By William Mbangula OSHAKATI The Government has been lauded for allocating N$400 million in the 2007/2008 budget to address the unhygienic bucket system still being used in some towns and villages. The words of praise came from the President of the Mayor’s Forum who is also the Mayor of Ongwediva, Erastus Uutoni, during a meeting of the Executive Committee held last Friday. The meeting was called to take stock of the progress made so far by the Mayor’s Forum and to chart the way forward. In the budget presented in Parliament recently by the Minister of Finance, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development was allocated N$400 million for the replacement of the outdated bucket system that is still found in certain towns and villages. Uutoni, who is also Swapo Coordinator in Oshana Region, said some towns and villages still using the old-fashioned system are Kamanjab, Stampriet and Gibeon. Two of the Executive Committee members could not attend due to other commitments. They are the Mayor of Luderitz, Emilia Amupewa, and the Mayor of Swakopmund, Rosina Hoabes. Uutoni told the meeting – which included other executive members, namely: the Mayor of Grootfontein, Rapama Kamehozu; former Mayor of Walvis Bay and Honorary President of the Mayor’s Forum, King Mandume Muatunga (he also represented the Mayor of Walvis Bay); the Mayor of Windhoek, Mathew Shikongo, and the Forum’s Deputy President and Mayor of Mariental, Priscilla Beukes – that the organization faces many challenges. Some of them are the HIV/Aids pandemic, which Uutoni believes negatively affects the buying power of consumers. Others are the need for capacity-building, the slow pace of the decentralization process, migration of people to towns and cities, delaying of town layout approvals and lack of funding from the central government. The meeting was also addressed by the Namibian-based executive secretary of the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/Aids in Africa, Ayanda Nabe. She told the gathering that her organization is working towards increased capacity at local and community level, increased availability of data and strategic information at local level, enhanced monitoring and evaluation service delivery, expanding the partnerships and resource mobilization for scaled-up response, expanding technical, programmatic and organizational capacity of the organization, and also to ensure observance of gender equality, human rights and people living with Aids. The Alliance – whose coordinator, Salim Kisauji, is the Mayor of Tanga town in Tanzania – operates in 13 countries such as Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Namibia, Malawi, Mali, Zambia, South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Central Africa Republic and Cameroon.