Provinces not a benchmark, says Mbangu
Full report still to be made public
While the delimitation commission's report has been praised in some quarters, a Rundu constituency councillor has criticised the rejection of a proposal to create new regions.
Lawmaker and Rundu rural constituency councillor Paulus Mbangu has criticised the Delimitation and Demarcation Commission's decision to reject proposals for new regions, arguing that using benchmarks from provinces in other countries is inappropriate and does not accurately reflect the country’s situation.
Mbangu was responding to the commission's rejection of Namibian proposals for new regions in favour of boundary adjustments and new constituencies. The chairperson of the commission, acting judge Petrus Unengu, on Tuesday said the decision aligns with trends in southern African countries, which tend to have fewer regions.
While the commission rejected the proposals for new regions, it did recommend seven regional adjustments, 10 new constituencies and 61 constituency boundary adjustments.
Mbangu argued that the Kavango East Regional Council's proposal to split the region into two was supported by valid reasons.
"If what I read is correct, using provinces in South Africa and other countries as a benchmark is misguided. The provinces operate differently across regions," he said.
"I am not privy to all the information regarding other reasons they might have considered. Perhaps we will have to wait for the final report to review it. However, on the surface, if provinces are what they used as a reference, then that is a flawed benchmark because provinces operate differently from us," Mbangu added.
In South Africa, each province has its own parliament and budget and in Zimbabwe, provinces also have their own governments and budgets, he said.
"This is not the case with our regions here; we are allocated funds from the ministry without a stand-alone budget for the regional council. In South Africa, there is a specific budget for KwaZulu-Natal, along with separate budgets for various departments like education. This is not true for us. If they are using provinces as a benchmark, then that is incorrect," he added.
Centralisation not a reality
He argued that in Namibia, decentralisation exists only on paper; in reality, authority remains centralised in Windhoek.
"Every small request requires permission from Windhoek. We are at the mercy of ministry staff regarding our budget. Even in parliament, when we debate the budget, we only discuss the ministry's budget without knowing how much money goes to the regional council. This presents a significant challenge, and I doubt if the commission fully understands this issue," he said.
‘Job well done’
In contrast, Damian Maghambayi, chairperson of the Kavango East Regional Council, commended the commission for creating new constituencies.
"We have a problem. If you look at the population figures, they speak for themselves”.
"The census findings show that the Mukwe constituency has nearly 40 000 residents, with over 20 000 eligible voters. In contrast, constituencies like Mashare are geographically vast and have a larger population," he said.
"Rundu Urban is even larger than the Omaheke Region, making it more challenging to manage. In terms of population, I commend the delimitation commission for their job well done and their thoughtful consideration as they benchmarked against neighbouring countries," he added.
Maghambayi asserted that this approach is reasonable and justifiable. "We need to ask how one councillor can effectively manage such a large and populous constituency”, adding that based on preliminary submissions, “even though we do not know what lies ahead, I hope Kavango East will benefit from the proposed demarcation of constituencies. If we can secure one or two new constituencies, we will be satisfied. I have no further comments at this time”.
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Mbangu was responding to the commission's rejection of Namibian proposals for new regions in favour of boundary adjustments and new constituencies. The chairperson of the commission, acting judge Petrus Unengu, on Tuesday said the decision aligns with trends in southern African countries, which tend to have fewer regions.
While the commission rejected the proposals for new regions, it did recommend seven regional adjustments, 10 new constituencies and 61 constituency boundary adjustments.
Mbangu argued that the Kavango East Regional Council's proposal to split the region into two was supported by valid reasons.
"If what I read is correct, using provinces in South Africa and other countries as a benchmark is misguided. The provinces operate differently across regions," he said.
"I am not privy to all the information regarding other reasons they might have considered. Perhaps we will have to wait for the final report to review it. However, on the surface, if provinces are what they used as a reference, then that is a flawed benchmark because provinces operate differently from us," Mbangu added.
In South Africa, each province has its own parliament and budget and in Zimbabwe, provinces also have their own governments and budgets, he said.
"This is not the case with our regions here; we are allocated funds from the ministry without a stand-alone budget for the regional council. In South Africa, there is a specific budget for KwaZulu-Natal, along with separate budgets for various departments like education. This is not true for us. If they are using provinces as a benchmark, then that is incorrect," he added.
Centralisation not a reality
He argued that in Namibia, decentralisation exists only on paper; in reality, authority remains centralised in Windhoek.
"Every small request requires permission from Windhoek. We are at the mercy of ministry staff regarding our budget. Even in parliament, when we debate the budget, we only discuss the ministry's budget without knowing how much money goes to the regional council. This presents a significant challenge, and I doubt if the commission fully understands this issue," he said.
‘Job well done’
In contrast, Damian Maghambayi, chairperson of the Kavango East Regional Council, commended the commission for creating new constituencies.
"We have a problem. If you look at the population figures, they speak for themselves”.
"The census findings show that the Mukwe constituency has nearly 40 000 residents, with over 20 000 eligible voters. In contrast, constituencies like Mashare are geographically vast and have a larger population," he said.
"Rundu Urban is even larger than the Omaheke Region, making it more challenging to manage. In terms of population, I commend the delimitation commission for their job well done and their thoughtful consideration as they benchmarked against neighbouring countries," he added.
Maghambayi asserted that this approach is reasonable and justifiable. "We need to ask how one councillor can effectively manage such a large and populous constituency”, adding that based on preliminary submissions, “even though we do not know what lies ahead, I hope Kavango East will benefit from the proposed demarcation of constituencies. If we can secure one or two new constituencies, we will be satisfied. I have no further comments at this time”.
[email protected]
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