People must be central to decentralisation: Govt

NAMIBIANS will soon have an opportunity to actively participate in Government’s decentralisation process and have a say in development plans at a regional and local level.

A survey will be conducted in each constituency of every region to assess people’s perceptions and expectations of participation in public affairs. The findings of the survey will be used to identify and establish relevant and efficient public-participation mechanisms.The exercise started last year and is being funded by the French government to the tune of N$8,3 million.A first assessment survey was conducted in the Khomas Region recently to define the modalities for the rest of the country.A group of unemployed school leavers were trained to collect information from 1 000 Khomas residents.”We have found a mass of people eager to work, learn, share and contribute to the national development process, while there was observed limited capacity to involve them fully,” Khomas Regional Governor Sofia Shaningwa said on Wednesday.”Due to lack of sustained communication with communities and little awareness creation, there is an acute lack of knowledge on issues and unrealistic expectations on the part of our people,” she added.”We have detected serious lack of civic education and civic responsibility among the targeted population in Khomas.””When our communities know when, where and how to participate, their ownership of the Government and its programmes will be guaranteed through decision-making,” Shaningwa added.MISSING LINKThe survey in Khomas revealed that people expected regional and local councillors to be a link between communities and the authorities, “fulfil political decisions and ensure there is no corruption” and allow communities to take part in decision-making.People had a fairly negative view of the Khomas Regional Councillors.They view them as poor leaders whom they only saw when elections were coming up, who made empty promises and did not show interest in community issues.Lessons learnt in the Khomas Region resulted in plans to compile quarterly newsletters on the activities of the Khomas Regional Council, involve communities in project planning and management and train Councillors on citizen relationship management.The Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, Kazenambo Kazenambo, said that 16 years after Independence public participation remained problematic, despite considerable efforts.”We are still a society filled with inequalities and language barriers contribute to the problem of information flow to the public if most of it is available in English only.”We need to ensure that people feel fully heard and appreciated,” Kazenambo added.An executive member of the Namibia Non-Governmental Organisations Forum (Nangof), Rosa Namises, welcomed the efforts of the Ministry.”Decentralisation narrows the gap between citizenry and Government, so that we do not just vote and wait for the next election,” she said.”NGOs and civil-society organisations can be active in areas where Government finds it difficult to act like combating HIV-AIDS and promoting gender equality.”According to the Director of Decentralisation Co-ordination, Regina Ndopu-Lubinda, technical and financial support would be given to each Regional Council once all surveys are completed and analysed.They would then develop their own public participation strategies.”The Regional Councils and sub-national structures such as traditional and local authorities, constituency development committees have greeted the survey preparations with great receptivity and enthusiasm,” Ndopu-Lubinda added.The surveys will start next month and will be completed in December.They are being co-ordinated by the Namibia Development Trust, the !Nara Training Centre and the Centre for Public Participation in South Africa.The findings of the survey will be used to identify and establish relevant and efficient public-participation mechanisms.The exercise started last year and is being funded by the French government to the tune of N$8,3 million.A first assessment survey was conducted in the Khomas Region recently to define the modalities for the rest of the country.A group of unemployed school leavers were trained to collect information from 1 000 Khomas residents.”We have found a mass of people eager to work, learn, share and contribute to the national development process, while there was observed limited capacity to involve them fully,” Khomas Regional Governor Sofia Shaningwa said on Wednesday.”Due to lack of sustained communication with communities and little awareness creation, there is an acute lack of knowledge on issues and unrealistic expectations on the part of our people,” she added.”We have detected serious lack of civic education and civic responsibility among the targeted population in Khomas.””When our communities know when, where and how to participate, their ownership of the Government and its programmes will be guaranteed through decision-making,” Shaningwa added.MISSING LINK The survey in Khomas revealed that people expected regional and local councillors to be a link between communities and the authorities, “fulfil political decisions and ensure there is no corruption” and allow communities to take part in decision-making.People had a fairly negative view of the Khomas Regional Councillors.They view them as poor leaders whom they only saw when elections were coming up, who made empty promises and did not show interest in community issues.Lessons learnt in the Khomas Region resulted in plans to compile quarterly newsletters on the activities of the Khomas Regional Council, involve communities in project planning and management and train Councillors on citizen relationship management.The Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, Kazenambo Kazenambo, said that 16 years after Independence public participation remained problematic, despite considerable efforts.”We are still a society filled with inequalities and language barriers contribute to the problem of information flow to the public if most of it is available in English only.”We need to ensure that people feel fully heard and appreciated,” Kazenambo added.An executive member of the Namibia Non-Governmental Organisations Forum (Nangof), Rosa Namises, welcomed the efforts of the Ministry.”Decentralisation narrows the gap between citizenry and Government, so that we do not just vote and wait for the next election,” she said.”NGOs and civil-society organisations can be active in areas where Government finds it difficult to act like combating HIV-AIDS and promoting gender equality.”According to the Director of Decentralisation Co-ordination, Regina Ndopu-Lubinda, technical and financial support would be given to each Regional Council once all surveys are completed and analysed.They would then develop their own public participation strategies.”The Regional Councils and sub-national structures such as traditional and local authorities, constituency development committees have greeted the survey preparations with great receptivity and enthusiasm,” Ndopu-Lubinda added.The surveys will start next month and will be completed in December.They are being co-ordinated by the Namibia Development Trust, the !Nara Training Centre and the Centre for Public Participation in South Africa.