The Minister of Urban and Rural Development, Erastus Utoni, has urged local authority leaders to avoid political affiliation when carrying out their duties.

He made the call during a joint signing ceremony of the renewal and new cooperation agreements between the City of Windhoek and 16 other local authorities.

The areas of cooperation entail solid waste and sewerage management, human resources and capacity building, economic development, as well as land and housing.

Regional and local authority councillors in the ||Kharas Region have commended the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises for the consultations that will provide them with the platform to ensure that some of their budgetary needs are included in next year's budget allocations.

The ministry is undertaking consultations with regional councillors and local authorities in the region aimed at understanding the current pressing financial needs and planning for next year's budget.