Allexer Namundjembo
Minister of urban and rural development James Sankwasa has called for a “Namibia First” approach to government procurement, urging regional and local authority councillors to prioritise national interests. He also warned against the abuse of land allocation processes, procurement systems and public trust.
“If Trump can stand and say ‘America first’, we must also stand and say ‘Namibia first’ and not second,” Sankwasa said.
He was speaking at the opening of a five-day induction workshop for regional and local authority councillors, chief regional officers, chief executive officers and administrators in Rundu on Monday.
Sankwasa said that procurement practices that favour foreign nationals at the expense of local businesses must come to an end.
He accused administrative officials of misleading political leadership by hiding behind claims of track records and the lowest prices.
“For too long, we have witnessed the preference of foreign nationals in the name of ‘track record’ and the cheapest price being offered. This is coming from administrative staff. They have misled political leadership with this track record. They have not even dissected what the track record is or what the cheapest offer really means,” he said.
He said all government procurement must align with the objectives of the Public Procurement Act.
“The time for Namibia First has come. Charity begins at home, but it does not end there. Our procurements must be geared towards the objectives stated in Section 2, subsection B of the Public Procurement Act,” Sankwasa said.
Sankwasa also expressed concern about how procurement committees are operating.
“I have seen completely that what procurement committees are doing is a complete mess, and we are going to address that. The objectives of the Act are to promote, facilitate and strengthen measures to implement empowerment and industrialisation of the government,” he said.
Sankwasa also warned that many companies registered in Namibia and carrying local names are owned by foreign nationals.
“I have seen a company that has a Silozi name but is owned by the Chinese. When you are dealing with procurement and you only have papers, you will believe you are dealing with a Namibian company,” he said.
Sankwasa reminded councillors that they do not hold executive power, stressing that Namibia is a unitary state governed by the rule of law.
“The executive power is vested in the President and the Cabinet. I must emphasise that not a single councillor, be it regional or local authority, has executive power in this country,” he said.
He warned that failures at the local authority level affect the entire country.
“The moment local authorities are mismanaged, the whole country becomes mismanaged, because that is where the people are,” Sankwasa said.
He said Namibians across the country are demanding better service delivery, regardless of political affiliation.
“The daily cries of the people of Namibia are for better and improved service delivery, irrespective of political affiliations. Namibians are not asking for the impossible from us. They want what is fair, what is decent for dignified lives that every citizen in a democratic country deserves,” he said.
“When citizens demand service delivery from councillors, they are not demanding what is impossible,” he added.
Sankwasa said regional and local authority councillors must also take responsibility for job creation that benefits Namibians.
“Regional and local authority councillors must be responsible for job creation that targets the Namibian people,” he said.
Land auctions
On land management, he said land auctions will not be allowed under his leadership.
“There will be no auctioning of land under my tenure. You can’t auction land. We went into exile to fight for land, and now you are charging high prices, saying it is market-related. Which market did you get this land from? Did the council buy the land? You never bought land. Land belongs to the government. Such things must stop,” he said.
Sankwasa also revealed that the ministry is considering a land audit, noting that such an exercise has never been carried out since independence.
“We are considering what I call a land audit, something that has never been done in the last 35 years,” he said.
He warned that land speculation is illegal and said the ministry will scrutinise how land was acquired.
“We will start looking at how land was acquired. Land speculation is illegal,” Sankwasa said.
He questioned how some councillors acquire multiple plots after assuming office.
“We have councillors who had no land before joining the council, but after joining the council, they now have ten plots. From where?” he asked.
Land allocation by local authorities has come under increased public scrutiny in recent years, amid claims that some councillors and senior officials benefit from multiple serviced and unserviced plots while ordinary residents remain on waiting lists.
Civil society groups and community leaders have repeatedly called for transparency, saying perceived favouritism erodes public trust in local authorities.
