Deputy Minister of Urban And Rural Development Nathalia |Goagoses has called on senior officials in regional and local authorities to be creative and work together as a team and not to behave as politicians.
|Goagoses says only through cooperation will towns and regions develop fast.
|Goagoses was speaking at the opening of a workshop to strengthen relations between councillors and staff at regional and local authority councils at Katima Mulilo.
She says it is disappointing that politicians are most of the time focused on fighting administrators, who in turn accuse councillors of interfering in the administration of towns and regions.
This, she says, hampers development.
"I refuse that Katima Mulilo remains a town council. In my view and in accordance with my own assessment, Katima Mulilo qualifies to be proclaimed as a municipality. Let us really unlearn. If things are not working when they were working five years ago but today they are not relevant anymore, it is not working anymore to achieve our goals and you want to stick to them but it does not give the results, unlearn them. Let us be innovative, let us be creative, and let us listen to what people on the ground want us to do."
|Goagoses also called on politicians in the local and regional authorities not to undermine administrative staff and should only intervene when necessary.
"Politicians, honourable governors, honourable councillors, you are very important people. You cannot be an accounting officer if you are not a leader who cares about your people. No, you have appointed a professional to be the accounting officer to execute your lawful resolutions, so therefore don't interfere in the administrative operations of your professionals."
She further warned CROs and CEOs not to accept inaccurate financial reports, attend council meetings with compromised agendas, or execute unlawful resolutions, saying doing so is a violation of the law.
"Any unlawful meetings, CROs and CEOs, I encourage you to not partake. Do not partake in any unlawful council meeting, but make sure, as accounting officer, that you set lawful council agendas in collaboration with the Chairperson of those institutions."
She further called on the Zambezi Regional Council to facilitate the appointment of a CEO of the Bukalo Village Council without delay.