ALAN President, Hon. Dr. Samuel !Oe – Amseb, delivers the Message of solidarity at the 20th NALAO AGM
The Namibian Association of Local Authority Officers & Professional Development Institute (NALAO) is current holding its Annual General meeting from 19 – 21 April 2023 in Tsumeb. The AGM brings together the local authority administrators/ CEO, political leaders, stakeholders and development partners.
The AGM is held under the theme RISE:
- Strengthen RESILIENCE- by exploring intergraded strategies and sustainable urban development that enhance community well – being and security by building climate resilience and reducing risk and vulnerability from a public health and climate mitigation perspective
- Inspire INNOVATION- by encouraging local authorities to create and enabling environment that supports local innovation, entrepreneurship, economic development, job creation and investment promotion.
- Encourage SUSTAINABILITY – through visionary servant leadership at both political and executive level in local authorities that is committed to mobilise resources to develop comprehensive scale –able programmes to address the most pressing challenges of sustainable urbanization.
- Encourage platforms for ENGAGEMENT to support sharing of knowledge and experience, public private dialogue, twinning of cities and increased opportunities for professional training in urban development including town planning, informal settlement upgrading, stakeholder engagement and working with communities
READ THE ACTUAL STATEMENT BELOW OR DOWNLOAD A PDF COPY HERE
Hon. Erastus Uutoni- Minister of Urban and Rural Development
Hon. Engel !Nawatiseb - Former Deputy Minister
Mr. Moses Matyayi – President of NALAO
ALAN leadership
Leadership of NALAO
Good morning!
It is my profound honor a delight to be with you today during your 20th conference and AGM official opening. I am bringing fraternal greetings from the collective leadership of ALAN. I have read your theme with a keen interest because it has attracted my mind to have an understanding about it and tried to put it in context with reference to the sector in which we as NALAO and ALAN operates. This sector requires unity of purpose from both elected leaders which I represent and appointed staff members which you represent. It is the sector that will stimulate the economic revival of our country, because we are a backbone of infrastructure development in Namibia. Every development starts with LA and ends with LA.
I can therefore only conclude that the theme is exactly trying to achieved that goal, We can rise above challenges which confront us and we shall achieved our objectives collectively, it is equally so that we need to be resilient in this touch economic trying times in which people has lose jobs and are unable to pay council servicesas expected, it is also true that we need to innovate our approached to everything, business as usual approached will not improve the circumstances of the councils, yes whatever we do we should always be cognizant not to over commit the council by taking decisions that is not sustainable, sustainability of our decisions is the key formular for the council to meet all its targets.
It is therefore my conviction that we need to work as team the elected leaders and the staff of our respective councils. We need to pull in the same direction to provide uninterrupted services to the residents. Unprocedural suspensions of Chief Executive officers who are the accounting officers are to the detriment of the council and does not benefit anybody in that locally, even the electorates whom we as politicians represent are not benefiting because once CEO is suspended there is no leadership and absence of leadership is a result of no implementation of council resolutions for infrastructure development and the uplightment of all residents.Here I might also mention that staff members should not also undermine the ability of the councillors and all ways respect them as their employers for 5 years.
I am not saying let us not suspend, I am advocating that we always followedestablished staff rules and provisions of labour act before a decision for suspension is taken. That takes me to the last part of the theme which is engagement. It does not matter how big or small the challenges are that our councils are face with, I belief if we engaged there will be a solution. Is true we must engage each other the community, the council and the staff.
Our work as councillors and staff are in dependable one leads, other follow, one take decision other implement, meaning no one will achieve intended goals without the other. Let usobservedtherefore political tolerant as Namibia is built on the democratic principles and rule of law, we are a multi-party system country. Let us accept outcomes of the elections of local authority and work together as councillors irrespective of our political affiliations, at the end we are a one community, one family, eating from the same pot, shopping from the same shops, attending the same churches and walking in the same streets. Let us rise to rive local authority in Namibia. I refuse that local authority perish in our hands because of small issues which we can resolved for increase service delivery and efficiency in our administrative systems
We need to improve the qualityof service delivery of our local authorities. We must get the basics required from us as local authority to deliver service.
We should embrace our regional capacities to collaborate as local authority to by ensuring local authority to local authority collaborations to enhance our strength. As I am ending, I would like to reaffirm that the long-renewed relationship between NALAO and ALAN has improved drastically, and it shall remain intact for now and in the future. ALAN therefore supports your conference and AGM and wishes to express our appreciation to be invited to deliver message of support, we wish that you will have a very productive and successful events.
I thank you!
