Hertta-Maria Amutenja
The Namibia Association of Local Authority Officials (NALAO) has expressed concerns over the persistent issue of local authorities operating without Chief Executive Officers (CEOs).
Moses Matyayi, President of NALAO, highlighted the implications of the absence of CEOs in municipalities, town councils, and village councils.
Matyayi explained that the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development had delegated the matter to the Deputy Minister, who then collaborated with NALAO to travel across the country and meet the affected local authorities.
“The intervention was meant to understand the challenges and their implications. We highlighted many implications for legal understanding,” he noted.
Despite these efforts, Matyayi said progress has been slow.
“Since the interventions, we have not had much joy from the local authorities. But then we have also tasked our colleagues like the CEO of Mariental to assist with the village councils. Most of the village councils are having capacity issues,” Matyayi added.
Several local authorities remain without permanent CEOs, affecting their operational efficiency and governance.
For example, Matjayi reported that an audit resulted in the suspension of the Karasburg local authority councillor, while Walvis Bay conducted interviews and is currently awaiting council decisions. Other municipalities, like Gobabis, face ongoing court cases regarding their leadership.
Other local authorities currently without CEOs include Grootfontein, Keetmanshoop, and Outjo municipalities, as well as Aranos, Usakos, Okahao, Karibib, Rehoboth, and Oranjemund town councils. Village councils such as Kalkrand, Bethanie, Maltahohe, Gibeon, Koes, and Stampriet also lack substantive leaders.
“It is quite critical because of the leadership vacuum. We end up with a lot of people acting in positions, and they can’t substantively take a position because they feel they will be more compromised. After all, it’s not their substantive position. Aspects such as the performance of the local authority are also compromised because there is no substantive person. Examples include Karasburg, which has not submitted its financial statements because of a lack of a leader,” Matyayi explained.
Wilemiena Uupindi, a councillor for Usakos, expressed similar concerns.
“In our case, it affected us a lot. The municipality is currently facing a shortage of staff members. To make it worse, one acting CEO is from finance, and he does not have much experience running a town. It’s really bad when we have decisions to make. Most of the councillors are not experienced, and without the knowledge of the CEO to advise us, it can even get us into trouble,” Uupindi said.
Usakos Town Council has been without a CEO since 2022.
