LÜDERITZ – Economic development officer of Lüderitz Town Council, Peya Mushelenga says citizens at the town through feedback he sourced from radio or social media, have expressed concern about the lack of service delivery at village and town councils. Most citizens attribute the lack of an enabling environment and the absence of SME support as among the factors they said are hindering growth and economic development.
He said, the local authorities, in accordance with the Local Authority Act No.23 of 1992, as amended, acts on behalf of the government of Namibia seeking to provide amenities and services that create a conducive, health, peaceful and safe environment for growth. In order to ensure there is effective service delivery to the satisfaction of residents in any given locality, there is a need to aggressively engage public and private sectors. He further explained that, the Public Private Dialogue approach does not only address issues arising from the community but it also ensures residents are involved and they make meaningful contributions towards the discussions and subsequently to economic growth. Moreover, through public, private dialogue communities get the opportunity to interact with their local authority leaders on issues pertaining to development. “But how do we trace whether or not the resolutions taken are being implemented? One way to ensure this happens is to have regular follow-up meetings which should be facilitated by the Local Economic Development Agency, the custodian of the town which can be a village council, town council or municipality and of course the Namibia Chambers of Commerce & Industry within that area,” Mushelenga explained. He feels is is inevitable that in order to accelerate service delivery, growth and development of a specific area, there should be collective efforts from both the public and private sectors and even from the community at large.