The Erongo, Kavango West, Oshana, Oshikoto, and Kunene regional councils are among the best-performing in terms of governance in Namibia, while ||Kharas, Kavango East, and Zambezi regions are the worst.
This is according to a new report by the Institute of Public Policy Research, which sought to scrutinize issues of corruption, digital footprints, fiscal records, and service delivery for all local and regional authorities in Namibia.
The report also classified Oshakati, Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, and Windhoek as local authorities with a good track record in governance, while Katima Mulilo, Mariental, Okahandja, Outapi, and Rundu all depict the worst performances.
Its author and researcher at the IPPR, Kitty McGirr, says although the majority of regions and towns boast websites, no new information flows through such platforms, which in turn affects service delivery.
Furthermore, e-governance systems are either nonexistent or very basic, lacking tools for online payments, among other things.
McGirr urged towns without social media platforms to join the digital world and provide information in rural areas, particularly in vast regions such as Otjozondjupa, Zambezi, Kavango East, and Ohangwena.
"This is, I think, really pertinent, especially given how far the distances are between a lot of council offices and rural communities. It is really essential to have a website for residents to be able to access information about service delivery, development plans, etc. But more preferable would be that the Council run at least one social media website with more active day-to-day updates on their goings-on at the Council."
McGirr also raised concern that none of the 14 regions and 32 towns received a clean bill of health in financial audits, mainly due to inadequate or low standards of accounting principles.
She urged towns and regions to emulate the gestures made by the Kavango West Regional Council and Windhoek by providing training to enhance capacity in the best accounting methodologies.
"So one way that council can improve transparency is to make budgeting more of a public conversation to foster a culture of accountable spending in that regard, have more public meetings on the budget process to invite the private sector and civil society to make their contributions as well, and also make sure the finalized versions of budgets are always posted annually for residents to access to see where the money is going."
McGirr urged towns and regions to explore new ways to earn money by clinching smart and innovative partnerships.
The IPPR says towns and regions that delay the appointment of top administrators, often due to political infighting, also run the risk of failing in service delivery.