The Regional Council act amendment: For the Public or the President? 0 By: Joseph TobiasLast year the Regional Councils Act was amended to pave the way for the direct appointment of governors by the President. It’s not entirely evident who this amendment would benefit. On the one hand the president would have the privilege of appointing whoever he wants, whenever he wants. Favoritism is likely to be on the high here, most of the governors appointed hardly have the experience of working with people or serving the public. When you are familiar with the President, or you are a war veteran, a member of the Swapo Party and but may not be knowledge or have experience of the job. You may be fortunate enough to receive a call from the highest office in the land and be appointed to the job of serving the president and being eyes and ears of the president at a local level. Looking at this amendment, there is little consideration of the public or the communities and regions to which these governors are accountable for, or even a confusion of who they serve or be accountable to. In this whole amendment, the public are shockingly the smallest beneficiary of the changes.
The latest case of Festus Ueitele’s audio of negative tribal undertones which resulted in a community protest, highlighted the case of the officials being not only inconsiderate of the public’s culture or belonging but also the insensitivity and ignorance of the community’s feelings that will be hurt from hearing these negative narratives. It also highlighted the fact that not all governors have the experience of dealing with the people or like working with civilians and surely not all of them are happy to be governing their respective regions. It’s also not automatic that the governors will like the people they are to serve, even if public servants are required by the law to like everyone. It’s not guaranteed that they will, even if they might not show it as the law wouldn’t let them.
The president is able to appoint any politician to serve as a governor of any region, without considering how familiar he or she is with the people and the whole community of such a region. The public elect the president, the public also elect its councilors and it’s only the middle men between the president and councilors that is not elected by the people, the governors. We are in a democratic country, in the process of decentralization, the appointment of governors by the president is undemocratic and it takes away both the democratic right of the people to elect their own public servants at the local government level, who they probably will be familiar with, with their behaviors, culture, traditions and ways of living then the one that the president will appoint for them. It also delays the process of decentralization which has made significant progress in recent years because the appointment of governors by his excellency is a centralized approach. The direct appointment of governors would also fuel conflict between the state and the community as the community may feel that leaders are imposed on them. People must be allowed to elect their leaders. Governors should come from the people themselves and shouldn’t be imposed on them.
This amendment has brought confusion among the communities; the governors have become more focused on pleasing the president and showing loyalty to him while forgetting that they are public servants as well as politicians just like councilors and therefore accountable to the people at grassroots level. It’s obvious who the governors would choose to be accountable and loyal to between the people and the president considering that the president is the one who bring them into office and therefore decides if they would have the same job after 3 or 5 years, which above all highlight the need for governors to be elected by the people. This amendment also gives the president the right to appoint special advisors to the respective governors who sits on very high salaries and several allowances of the tax payer’s money as reported by The Namibian, “The advisors will be at under-secretary level, just under deputy permanent secretaries. The salary package of an under-secretary is around N$330 000, excluding car and housing allowances, which are also said to be substantial. Their monthly basic salary is around N$30 000. Just on their basic pay, excluding numerous other benefits, the 13 advisors will cost the taxpayer N$51, 4 million a year”. Why are the advisors not being used as middlemen by the president to be his representatives, eyes and ears of the president at the local level, in this case he can be allowed and be free to appoint anyone he wants, who will be under his control and be accountable to him and not being responsible for the public.
There is no doubt that some current governors like Comrade Usko Nghaamwa have truly executed their duties and responsibilities beyond the call of duty and they deserve their places in officer for multiple terms. However, the same cannot be said for all of our comrades. In some regions the achievement of some governors has only been controversy and political arrogance subtly endorsed from the top leadership of the Party, which is mostly due to their direct appointment from the top.
*Joseph Tobias is a fourth year studying towards a Bachelor of Public Management at the University of Namibia.