The impact of decentralization on service delivery in Otjozondjupa region (Namibia)

Abstract

Decentralization in Namibia is seen as a vehicle for sustainable development in general. The strategic reason directing the decision to embark on decentralization by the Namibian government was to ensure that services reach the poor communities. Government therefore embarked on decentralization and put in place policies that would govern it. The study investigated the extent to which decentralization has performed in taking government services closer to the people. The implementation process of any program has to do with policies, the human and material resources to achieve the targeted goals. While central government considers decentralization to be essential, the Namibian government went on to study and mission finding from other countries in order to align itself with the constraints, challenges and benefits of decentralization before implementing it. From what the study revealed, the decentralization performance has been too slow and the results achieved so far, are disappointing. The study found that lack of competent human resources, lack of material resources, lack of funds, the HIV and AIDS pandemic, which is widespread in the region, corruption, mismanagement of scarce resources, and illiteracy levels of the communities to be limiting to an effective decentralization process. Challenges influencing the implementation of decentralization are among others, poverty, unemployment, informal settlements that accommodate the poor who overload the local authorities with problems such as crime, juvenile delinquency, bad debts in terms of paying for services. Service delivery is also affected by the vastness of the region, some inaccessible areas, lack of health facilities such as hospitals, clinics, mobile clinics, ambulances and outreach programs. Educational facilities such as lack of enough schools, libraries, recreational centers and classroom have implications on the services rendered. The study also found critical issues like political will from politicians to decentralize services to local government levels to be lacking. Political interference of central government into local levels of government is rampant and thus impeding progress in the decentralization process as a whole. Decentralization is an imported system of government and to be able to achieve its intentions, Government has to follow the trends within which it identifies itself. These trends inter alia include, putting sound policies in place, implement those policies, monitoring and evaluation of such policies, provision of funds to carry out services, appointment of proper

personnel to govern local levels of government, measuring the performance and progress of decentralization. In an effort to understand those trends within decentralization is to be implemented, and using data sources, which include personal interviews, primary and secondary sources, the researcher describes and analyses those data sources to make conclusions on the scale the decentralization and service delivery are performing. The researcher does not simply decry the non-performance of decentralization, but also lays down what could be done to make a difference and ultimately achieving best results of decentralization. Areas for further research are provided in which more could be investigated and with the results found, new dimensions in the decentralization process as a system of government could be useful to the country in its endeavors to develop the country using decentralization as a vehicle to realizing the dream of effective and efficient service delivery.