By Petronella Sibeene WINDHOEK The financial crisis and administrative disarray afflicting most local authorities are a result of grossly outdated local authority structures and the processes inherited from colonial times. This view was expressed by former Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, Gerhard TÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶temeyer, who further called for a renaissance in the present local authority system. Prime Minister Nahas Angula similarly expressed the same concern during the National Conference on Local Authorities Reform last week. He told local authority leaders that the status quo in local government needs immediate transformation. “There is no doubt that, 17 years after independence, the Local Authority Act of 1992 needs a substantive review. For example, the present local Authority Act is based on the British model … can Namibia move away from this model and devise a system that complies with the country’s specific needs and demands?” TÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶temeyer asked. The current legislation on local authority needs serious testing whether it complies with present-day demands and a changed environment, he stressed. In view of the financial malaise in local authority, the Act should also look at pertinent questions on whether local authorities have adequate economic base to cope with demands and development expectations. TÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶temeyer says an amended local Authority Act should also consider that municipalities operate in demarcated areas with higher economic activities than village councils; thus, the latter has become most disadvantaged. Most local authorities operate in communities with low income, insufficient housing, lack of employment opportunities, underdeveloped infrastructure and services, and generally a weak economic base. In an environment marked by deprivation, poverty, and underdevelopment, TÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶temeyer added that it is difficult to formulate and implement development projects as well as to determine priorities when funds are limited. “It is a definite constraint that many local authorities are not financially viable and cannot operate any longer without central government assistance. They are equally aware that non-self-sufficiency can easily cause dependency and loss of autonomy”, he said. The availability of capacity is seriously lacking in many local authorities, hence the need for skilled human resources that will ensure that offices are professionally run and managed. According to the professor, the relationship between local and traditional authorities should be defined, while ethics of local governance should be given prominence. The revised Act should duly reflect deecentralization and ensure that efficient governance and decentralization are sufficiently synchronized, as they are both a prerequisite for quality governance and administration. “Many local authorities are presently unable to comply with quality governance and administration and thereby guarantee satisfactory service delivery and development”, he added. He said Namibia needs a revised financial policy for local authorities reflected in a separate Act on local finance. Attention in this case should be an adequate town development policy to deal with migration of people to local authority areas and how these areas can cope with such challenges. “A revised Act should also take care of the challenges local authorities are daily faced with such as poverty, unemployment, squatting, criminality, street children and the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” said TÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶temeyer. Despite all the problems and challenges to which local authorities are exposed, TÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶temeyer says local initiative and self-help programmes should be encouraged. TÃÆ’Æ‘Æ‘ÃÆ”šÃ‚¶temeyer spoke at the 7th Namibian College of Open Learning graduation ceremony on Friday.