The National Council Standing Committees' Joint Stakeholder Engagement with Offices, Ministries, and Agencies (OMAs) commenced on Tuesday in the capital.

The three-day engagement is designed to give members a clear understanding of the strategic priorities, policy direction, legislative mandates, budgetary frameworks and implementation programmes of various ministries.

The Vice Chairperson of the Implementation and Coordination Committee, Bethuel Tjaveondja, stated that the session is not merely about building the knowledge and capacity of members but also about fostering and strengthening relationships among government institutions.

He says their shared objective is to strengthen accountability, improve public services delivery and ensure that government programmes and policies achieve intended outcomes for the masses.

"Effective oversight is not adversarial but rather collaborative, meaning that when a standing committee understands the operational reality facing a government institution and when it almost understands the expectation and the process of the Council, both sides are better placed to do their work well. This engagement is intended to leave that foundation."

The Secretary of the National Council, Tousy Namiseb, emphasised that the engagement is crucial for collaboration and effectively enhancing public services.

He also stated that decentralisation would improve public services delivery as well as improve implementation of programmes.

"For service delivery, when we centralise services, it becomes a challenge. The National Council is unique in the sense that, as I have said earlier, the members are constituency councillors who have daily touch with our people, who know their challenges. We have adopted a strategy for decentralising services so that the services are taken closer to the people."

The engagement will conclude on Thursday.