Martin Endjala
The town of Rundu, the capital of the Kavango East region, which is derived from its vernacular name, Ruuntu, meaning a place of many people, has for many years struggled to sustain city status.
This is despite it being the second-largest urban settlement after Windhoek.
According to the 2023 census report, Rundu is Namibia’s second-largest urban area, with 118 632 inhabitants after Windhoek with 486 301 residents.
By law, Rundu has already met the criteria for city status, as cities are governed by municipalities, while towns fall under town councils.
Rundu Rural Constituency councillor Paulus Mbangu believes the town has the capacity to become a municipality, joining Windhoek, Walvis Bay, and Swakopmund—the only other urban centres in the country with municipal status.
“The Ministry of Urban and Rural Development and the minister have been performing very poorly. From Rundu to Divundu is 100 kilometres, and in between, there is nothing. Only Ndiyona has been a settlement for the past 17 years. We have written letters to the council and ministry to upgrade it to the village council. But until now, no answer,” he said.
He emphasised the need to declare several areas as settlements and establish village councils.
But this has not happened, and he attributes it to poor performance by the line ministry.
“I hope the next president will put a competent minister to run this ministry. The town has about 218 000 inhabitants by my calculations so far. It is a lot of people. The town has the capacity to become a city with adequate funding and upgrading other areas,” he noted.
Social commentator Christian Harris last week took to his social media page, emphasising that it was about time the government declared other major towns as cities.
“At three million people, our country still has only one city, Windhoek, which serves as both an administrative and commercial capital. I am no geographer nor urban developer or urban sociologist but I read an article in one magazine a few years ago which stated that to qualify for city status, a settlement should have more than 100 000 residents,” he stated.
He pointed out that according to the latest census, Rundu, Oshakati and Walvis Bay have surpassed 100 000, arguing as to why not declare these major towns as cities.
Harris argues that declaring these towns as cities has lots of benefits, as businesses and corporations are likely to open satellites or their main headquarters in that city.
Rundu, Oshakati, and Walvis all have educational institutions and play a pivotal role in the economy.
He also suggested that the government will be able to move some of its administrative functions to these newly proclaimed cities and thus reduce pressure on Windhoek.
“In the case of Namibia, Walvis Bay, being the harbour town, serves as the second richest town after Windhoek, and its role can be further enhanced by moving some of the government offices to be headquartered there,” he said.
For example, the envisioned city of Walvis Bay can serve as the head office of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources as well as the Ministry of Works and Transport.
Oshakati is already the main capital of the North and has a University of Namibia satellite campus, and a branch of the High Court, among other things.
Rundu also has a UNAM satellite campus and a vocational training centre.
The only drawback of declaring Rundu a city, Harris noted, is that it will derail Katima Mulilo’s development.
“As it stands, Katima Mulilo depends on Rundu in terms of accessing better medical services. Certain types of health services, he explained, are only accessed at Rundu Hospital,” he said.
Since the last census in 2011, Rundu has experienced an annual growth rate of 5.2%.
The Rundu Town Council did not respond to questions sent by the publication at the time this article was published.
