ONGWEDIVA - The local authorities of the City of Windhoek, Oshakati, Ongwediva and Ondangwa agreed to continue finding solutions to the most pressing challenges.
A joint signing to renew (for the third time) the memorandum of understanding between the councils took place at Oshakati on Tuesday.
Speaking at the ceremony, City of Windhoek deputy mayor Joseph Uapingene said the prevailing global economic, political, environmental, financial, and social trends increase the demands for services and complex community expectations.
“We, therefore, believe that by building capacities in other sister local authorities, we will not only enhance decentralisation efforts, but also the high urbanisation trends in Windhoek and other major towns,” he added.
He further said, it is important that councils seek more strategic collaborations and partnerships, to mitigate the impact of ever-growing demands.
“Success has nothing to do with what you gain in
life or what you accomplish by yourself, but it has more to do with what you can do for others,” Oshakati mayor Leonard Hango said.
He was hopeful that the strategic partnership they have signed is a great step forward in assisting one another as towns, by recognising the key roles that the towns play in the development of the country.
“Renewing these joint agreements today should enable us to share knowledge and skills pertaining to seeking amicable ways to assist our communities who are severely affected by the challenges we face,” he stated.
Ongwediva mayor Taarah Shalyefu said five years from now, they should be proud to reflect on this ceremony and confidently account to the public on what has been done regarding human resources and capacity building, promotion of tourism community development, waste management, town planning, land delivery solutions, and emergency services.
“This cordial relationship is a motivation to us as town councils to push forward and one day assume the responsibility of governing a municipality. In fact, that’s our target moving forward,” he noted.
He added that, surely, challenges are inevitable in the local authority environment but if they strive to concentrate on their mandate, they would collectively address challenges facing the sector and emerge victorious.
Paavo Amwele of Ondangwa indicated that this occasion came at a time where the country is faced with huge challenges of housing provision, which is largely due to people’s migration from the rural areas to towns and also from towns to cities in search of better employment opportunities.
“This situation is placing the local authorities at the forefront of the war against poverty and lack of housing in the country,” he added.
It is, therefore, his hope that the agreement that they have signed will be implemented to address the challenges they face in their towns.
“However, seeing what others do is always an inspiration and a learning opportunity for
smaller councils like ours,” he said. -vkaapanda@nepc.com.na