The Ruacana Town Council was recognized in September 2010 as a fully-fledged town council and before that, since 2006, it had operated as a village council. But four years later, Ruacana Town Council is the recipient of the best performing local authority award from the regional and local government ministry for the 2014/15 financial year. New Era journalist in Ongwediva, Nuusita Ashipala, interviewed Victoria Kapenda the CEO of Ruacana Town Council about the highs and lows of the north-western town council.
NE: What does this award mean for the Ruacana Town Council and for you as the CEO in particular?
VK: Out of 56 local authorities in Namibia, we won as the Best Performing Local Authority and we are humbled and happy to be recognized as such. Against the backdrop of limited resources we have created projects that have a positive impact on communities. We are motivated to achieve more as our efforts in building this town have been noticed by government. This also means that we won for achieving strong in-house services, with a core focus on inward investment and growth in the town. It further shows that good governance is indeed practised in our council. Professionally it gives credibility to our council especially when exploring our markets locally and internationally. As the CEO, winning this award is great validation of what I’ve achieved to date and an honour to be recognized among a high level of successful CEOs countrywide. Personally, I feel very proud to be able to set an example for my colleagues and children that work hard, and being passionate about what you do leads to success. It also gives me added confidence to continue with my creativity and forward growth within the industry. I further believe that the balance of business success and community involvement makes a good corporate citizen.
NE: Ruacana was only recognized as a town council four years back and already it scoops an award. What were some of the strategies that led to this authority receiving the award?
VK: We have instilled financial discipline and general housekeeping standards and created consistent staff development programmes. We also realised that since it is very difficult to attract competent people, we introduced our own internal merit awards for staff members to keep them motivated and in the process retain the skills and expertise, and this was implemented in 2007. We ensured that our strategic plan and strategy are aligned to meet our targets. In addition the implementation of identified and approved projects within each financial year is also a necessity.
NE: What were the major projects that have been implemented within the last four years?
VK: Government’s role in allocating resources is critical to the success of the betterment of lives of ordinary citizens. Without the leading role played by government, it would have been impossible to secure the millions of dollars to deliver the various services in our town and at the same time partly solve the housing problem within such a short period. The major projects include the construction of a taxi rank in Oshifo. This includes a market component where inhabitants can sell their products, as well as ablution facilities, upgrading of streets to bituminous standard of an eight-kilometre distance and re-gravelling of streets of three kilometres. In addition 180 toilets were constructed at Omonauatjihozu informal settlement. This was aimed at improving the hygienic conditions because we are of the opinion that even if one lives in a zinc structure it is important to have a flushing toilet. Furthermore, we fully completed 100 Build Together houses and provide basic services such as water, sewers, and electricity to 260 business plots and 800 residential plots.
NE: Service delivery is among the major stumbling blocks facing many local authorities. What is your town’s approach towards service delivery?
VK: As a local authority we are vested with the mandate to provide and render efficient and effective services to inhabitants within the jurisdiction of our town land. Basic services such as water, sewerage networks, electricity and roads are amongst the services that we provide in order to respond to community needs as they improve and uplift living conditions. Therefore, the council adopted a participatory approach, which is implemented as follows: Being financially disciplined and operating within the available budget, most importantly to utilize available resources. Quarterly meetings are held with various committees comprising of internal and external customers and with community members from all settlements in the town. These meetings are conducted separately with different stakeholders to identify and address issues of concern and the general wellbeing of our people.
Furthermore, council evaluates the quality of service that is rendered by the number of valid complaints we receive and thereby address them immediately. We identify our weaknesses, while effective measurement of our customer service helps us identify specific weaknesses within our operation and thereby improve. Another measure that helps us determine if we are on the right path is through the suggestion box and Facebook page.
The challenges we face in terms of service delivery include among others, inadequate financial and human resources, especially with regard to compensation funds. This fund is limited and in most instances we don’t receive what we request, which results in delays in the implementation of projects as we have to compensate people before we can start with the construction of service infrastructure. Poverty and unemployment also impact negatively on available resources, illegal connections and vandalism of properties, gaps in the various legislation and the remoteness of the town.
NE: You adopted a three-year developmental/strategic plan. Why did the council take this initiative and how is it expected to benefit the inhabitants?
VK: The main reason why we adopted a three-year strategic plan was basically to allow the current political office-bearers to be fully part of the plan and ensure the implementation thereof before their tenure ends. In most cases experience has shown that many local authorities adopt five-year strategic plans, however, incoming councillors find it half implemented and they might only have one or two years left to complete the plan and this does not foster ownership. We wanted our councillors, technocrats and stakeholders to fully own the plan. The inhabitants are benefitting in a sense that they form part of the various stakeholders that were part of the plan when it was crafted; their ideas and contributions are incorporated in the plan. Furthermore, as implementers we try by all means to implement our annual plans, which form part of the three-year plan and thereby reach our targeted goals.
NE: Where does the council see itself in five years from now?
VK: Ruacana Town Council in five years would be seen or regarded as the town of excellence in tourism and cultural diversity through vigorous economic growth. Council has to strengthen the local business environment to ensure prosperity and investment. Since tourism, retirement and recreational potential exist in the town, these aspects have to be maximized; and the growth for all in terms of economic and social aspects. Therefore, the Ruacana Town Council team is putting in more effort to ensure all the above-mentioned aspects become reality.
NE: Many town councils do not have serviced land – how has your council been able to address the housing issue, is there enough serviced land?
VK: Serviced land is an outcry countrywide, however in our situation most of the inhabitants do not qualify to build or construct houses with financial institutions since the majority of them are self-employed and employed by SMEs or their income is minimal. Furthermore, funding of houses through financial institutions started three to four years back which has forced some of the inhabitants to build their houses in other towns. When we were a village council from 2006-2010, we had enough serviced land and the demand for residential plots was very low. Therefore, we made use of the available housing program Build Together and we managed to construct 140 houses, which have benefited many inhabitants to date. Currently, the demand for residential plots is high and the council does not have enough serviced land. However, we took the approach to formalize two informal settlements, namely, Omonauatjihozu and Okondeka, with water, electricity, gravel roads and a sewerage network to cater for those who are in dire need of residential land at a cheaper price.
Furthermore, in responding to the plight of government in terms of sanitation, we managed to construct 180 toilets, one toilet per plot at Omonauatjihozu to address the unhygienic conditions that existed in the past. Extension Three is another area where council is busy putting up services in phases to cater for middle and high-income earners for 300 plots. We have also entered into public-private partnerships where serviced land has been availed for development of approximately 300 plots. In conclusion, serviced land is a challenge to us, however, council has put up strategies and mechanisms to address those challenges.
NE: Are you going to build any houses under mass housing and if in the affirmative, how many houses? And how much is earmarked for Ruacana for the construction of mass housing?
VK: Unfortunately we do not form part of the first phase for the construction of mass housing, but we hope and believe that we will be part of the second phase. Therefore, no houses are being constructed in Ruacana as part of mass housing.”
NE: What have been the highlights and lowlights of your tenure in office?
VK: The highlights include being part of a team that managed to be upgraded (first of this kind in the country) from village council to town after only four years of operation. Also for being able to successfully implement projects annually with the minimum resources at our disposal which have a positive impact on our inhabitants and therefore improve their living conditions, and most importantly being part of a team that managed to scoop the award for Best Performing Local Authority in the country among 56 local authorities.
The lowlights include difficult conditions that we had to endure at the inception whereby we operated from a two-bedroom house (as a village council) whilst waiting for the office building to be completed. The process of convincing and educating residents about the proclamation of Ruacana (as a village council), since many were resistant to change and were not willing to pay for basic services. Furthermore, vandalism of properties by some inhabitants and most importantly the negative reception we received from residents.