Staff Reporter
THE City of Windhoek’s Acting Strategic Executive for Finance and Customer Services, Samuel Mutonga, has revealed that the municipality faces an annual funding shortfall of approximately N$300 million.
Mutonga made the disclosure during the City’s recent two-day engagement with Prime Minister Dr Elijah Ngurare, where he pointed out that Namibia is among the few countries in which central government does not provide direct financial support to local authorities.
He was not alone in raising concerns about the City’s financial constraints. Several councillors and senior City officials emphasised the need for increased funding to rehabilitate the deteriorating road network, replace ageing water infrastructure, and invest in more efficient alternative transport systems.
Among those who addressed the engagement were the City of Windhoek’s Acting Strategic Executive for Infrastructure, Water and Technical Services, David Adams; Strategic Executive for Urban and Transport Planning, Pierre van Rensburg; Strategic Executive for Economic Development, Zurilea Steenkamp; and Strategic Executive for Human Resources, Metusalem ‘Archie’ Nikanor.
The councillors warned that, without direct financial support from central government, the City has little option but to increase tariffs to offset budget shortfalls. They argued that this approach is unsustainable and places an unfair financial burden on residents who already contribute through income tax.
The councillors therefore called for the introduction of a sustainable government funding model for the City, arguing that the current ad hoc approach is inadequate and does not sufficiently support municipal development priorities. They maintained that government subsidies are essential to enable the City to extend services to all residents, including those who do not contribute through rates and taxes, which remain the municipality’s primary source of revenue.
The councillors also urged the Prime Minister to review the legislation governing municipal debt collection to strengthen local authorities’ ability to recover outstanding payments for services rendered.
FINANCIAL CONCERNS: Scenes from the City of Windhoek engagements. Photo: City of Windhoek.
