Namibia Economist (Windhoek)
Clemencia Jacobs
30 October 2009
Windhoek — The mayor of Windhoek, Matheus Shikongo, has asked city council members and the management of the Windhoek municipality to rise above their differences and refrain from turning the Council Chambers into a "political talk shop".
"Our mandate is such that the people we represent are not concerned with our political differences, but what we can deliver to create a better life for them. Over the past few months we have regrettably wasted valuable time on unnecessary debates, while the public awaits service. As a chairperson of this council, I direct that we should avoid, by all means turning this august House into a political talk shop, but we should rise above our differences and debate issues objectively in the interest of service delivery. It is time that we change our approach on handling the business of this Council," said Shikongo at the monthly council meeting held this week.
He further called on all council members to "apply our minds with a view to make meaningful contribution on matters tabled before council."
Shikongo said heads of departments should take ownership of issues under the jurisdiction of the various departments and should provide technical explanations when needed.
"Unless a prior arrangement is made with the CEO, delegation of junior staff to attend Council meetings should be discouraged. I believe that effective leadership requires leaders that are prepared to serve others; this further requires leaders who put others ahead of their own agendas; leaders who are not too concerned about self-promotion; leaders who have the courage to take unpopular, but correct decisions," he said.
"This is our calling to make our city and country a better place where people enjoy a better quality of life. Our future is in our willingness to embrace change that will drive our ultimate success, because as much as we are in a modern world, we are equally in a very competitive and unpredictable world. We should work hard to make this a city where dreams really could come true," Shikongo said.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Namibia Economist. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
