About 70% to 80% of ministries have decentralised their functions to the regions since the adoption of the Decentralisation Policy in 1997.

This is according to the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development officials, who have called on those lagging behind to improve.

To empower local and regional governments, the Decentralisation Policy was adopted in 1997 so that residents could make their own decisions.

By implementing the policy, communities can shape their own destiny and address challenges unique to them.

Stakeholders have gathered at Swakopmund to reflect on the progress made since 1997.

"We cannot just come here and put on nice suits and sit here; we must tell members of the public what we are doing. People are crying. I call upon ministries that are still in the preparatory stages of decentralising identified functions to double their efforts and expedite their functions to regional councils," said Erastus Uutoni, the Minister of Urban and Rural Development. 

Uutoni revealed the names of the top performing ministries when it comes to decentralisation, which include the ministries of Education, Works, Information, Gender, Labour and Agriculture.

Among the list of ministries lagging behind are Health, Environment, and Mines and Energy.

The Decentralisation Director, Godwin Sikabongo, says the implementation is hampered by, among others, capacity and financial constraints.

"The first functions were decentralised in 2009, and since that time there has been a pause, and you only see significant transfers from 2016, and that has been sustained up until 2021/22. If we could maintain that pace during that period, we could have done much better, and perhaps even as we move forward, we could be able to be completely at the same level, but now we have a situation where some of our ministries are lagging behind."

Sikabongo called on the ministries to prioritise implementation and further strengthen coordination among stakeholders.