GOBABIS: The Gobabis Municipality had denied any form of financial mismanagement and challenged anyone with information of malpractice and corruption at the municipality to come forward.

Responding to a petition from a ‘concerned group’ which marched to the council offices over two weeks ago containing allegations of financial mismanagement at the local authority, the municipality declared its financial statement “open for all to see”.

A group of residents from mainly informal settlement at the town marched to the Gobabis Municipality, where they presented a petition detailing a host of concerns, most notably those of alleged corruption at the municipal chambers.

Amongst others, the group questioned the allocation of municipality tenders to municipal councillors, saying such practice is tantamount to corruption.

According to the petition, municipal councillors should not be allowed to take part in any tenders issued by their employers as they could have an unfair advantage over other prospective tenderers.

The municipality admitted to a group of residents who had flocked to the Legare Sports Stadium at the town to hear the response on Sunday that there are indeed Municipality councillors who have benefited from Municipal tenders.

The municipality however noted that such councillors, being prominent business people at the town, had won the tenders before they became municipality councillors.

“We take note of the concern raised, but due to legal obligations and commitment entered into between the municipality and the councillors concerned, the municipality cannot simply cancel such tenders after the business people become councillors,” the municipality statement reads.

The municipality said it has clear structures through which a councillor who might have interest in specific tenders is obliged to recuse himself from any discussions which might constitute a conflict of interest.

“A person is asked to leave such discussions which could result in an unfair advantage over other tenderers. Also, all tenders are awarded strictly on merit and no preferential treatment is accorded to anyone – councillor or not,” the municipality noted.

The Gobabis Municipality admitted to facing teething problems in addressing housing shortages at the town, and appealed to the residents to be patient while it devises mechanisms to solve the issue.

According to the municipality statement, housing is fast becoming a huge challenge for the municipality as the town’s population continue to increase unabated.

“Bear with us; your problems are noted and we have been doing our best with the meagre financial resources at our disposal to provide the services you, as residents, need,” said the municipality.

(edited)GOBABIS; The Gobabis Municipality has denied any form of financial mismanagement, and challenged anyone with information of malpractice and corruption at the municipality to come forward.

Responding to a petition from a ‘concerned group’ which marched to the council offices over two weeks ago, the municipality declared its financial statement ‘open for all to see’.

A group of residents from mainly informal settlements at the town presented a petition detailing a host of concerns, most notably those of alleged corruption at the municipal chambers.

Amongst others, the group questioned the allocation of municipality tenders to municipal councillors, saying such a practice is tantamount to corruption.

According to the petition, municipal councillors should not be allowed to take part in any tenders issued by their employer, as they could have an unfair advantage over other prospective tenderers.

The municipality admitted to a group of residents who had flocked to the Legare Sports Stadium at the town to hear the response on Sunday, that there are indeed municipality councillors who have benefited from municipal tenders.

The municipality, however, noted that such councillors, being prominent business people at the town, had won the tenders before they became municipality councillors.

“We take note of the concern raised, but due to legal obligations and commitment entered into between the municipality and the councillors concerned, the municipality cannot simply cancel such tenders after the business people become councillors,” said the statement read by Gobabis Municipality CEO, Ephraim Dawids on Sunday.

The municipality said it has clear structures through which a councillor who might have interest in specific tenders, is obliged to recuse himself from any discussions which might constitute a conflict of interest.

“A person is asked to leave such discussions which could result in an unfair advantage over other tenderers. Also, all tenders are awarded strictly on merit and no preferential treatment is accorded to anyone ‘councillor or not’,” the municipality noted.

The Gobabis Municipality admitted to facing teething problems in addressing housing shortages at the town, and appealed to the residents to be patient while it devises mechanisms to solve the issue.

According to the municipality statement, housing is fast becoming a huge challenge for the municipality, as the town’s population continue to increase unabated.

“Bear with us, your problems are noted and we have been doing our best with the meager financial resources at our disposal to provide the services you, as residents, need,” said the municipality.