Urban and Rural Development Deputy Minister Natalia /Goagoses has urged mayors to play a role in the development of strategic plans of their respective municipalities and local authorities to enable them to define goals and objectives of what they want to achieve.
/Goagoses, during the Namibia National Mayors Forum Annual Meeting held at Grootfontein, said the goals and objectives of strategic plans should be aligned with what they want to achieve and within a prescribed time frame.
She said the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated many of the challenges local authorities are facing in keeping with these responsibilities with an estimated 90 per cent of all reported COVID-19 cases taking place in urban areas, where all sectors have been deeply impacted.
‘Local authorities thus face additional challenges to the one of restoring life as normal as they must also double their efforts to accelerate progress to achieving recovery and building resilience of communities in the short and the long run,’ she said.
The current trend of urbanization, she added is often accompanied by significant social and environmental challenges, such as the lack of access to adequate, affordable urban land and housing options, urban infrastructure and basic services for a growing number of citizens, who suffer from rising inequality and exclusion, unemployment, food insecurity and extreme poverty.
It is therefore critical that mayors foster a more streamlined, business-friendly environment at local authorities by reducing administrative red tape and the time it takes to get applications approved, as well as taking a more generous approach to interpreting pivotal town planning documents and the bylaws, she said.
‘Given the challenging economic times and the pressure of competing for development opportunities, we can no longer afford to lag behind the best practices, simplified regulatory procedures, and a flexible approach to working with the community,’ concluded /Goagoses.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
