Brain Drain experienced by

Local Authorities in Namibia

The Local Authorities in Namibia notably the town and village councils are characterized by the lack of capacity in terms of key personnel in strategic positions.

This is caused by the high staff turnover that is being experienced by this sector. Local Authorities are losing staff to the private and public sector by virtue of the fact that the remuneration package leave a lot to be desired resulting in the exodus of staff seeking greener pastures elsewhere. Due to the lack of adequate financial resources there is nothing much the Local Authorities can do to retain those key personnel.

This situation is worsened by the fact that Local Authorities does not receive funding or subsidies from the central Government; they are left to fend for themselves. Local Authorities are reliant on the provision of water and other basic services such as sewage for survival. Lack of capacity in terms of financial management for instance experienced staff to implement viable debt recovery measures also makes it difficult for Local Authorities to have a sustainable income base as a result of increasing default rate by debtors in their respective localities.

The creation of REDs (Regional Economic Distributors) did not help matter either since Local Authorities were dependent on the provision of electricity as one of their main source of income now it is only the provision of water which is not sufficient enough to sustain them. Most Local Authorities are operating on a shoe-string budget. The creation of REDs not only deprived the Local Authorities with the much needed income through electricity provision but also human resources as most of the technical personnel left the Local Authorities to the REDS for better prospects.

All those factors can be attributed to the brain drain as experienced by Local Authorities, this can be only be alleviated should Local Authorities find other sources of income to supplement the existing ones.

Jobson Amutenya