By Tauno Iileka

OMAHEKE REGIONAL COUNCIL HOSTS REVENUE FORUM TO BOOST FINANCIAL STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT

The Omaheke Regional Council yesterday concluded its revenue collection strategies forum, with the aim to review current revenue systems, identify new investment opportunities, develop regional profiles and align financial practices with national frameworks such as the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

The two-day forum brought together Regional Councillors, management, Control Administrative Officers at settlement and constituency offices, settlement Accountants and Development Planners and will serve as a bi-annual engagement to monitor progress, promote innovation, and foster stakeholder collaboration for enhanced financial sustainability and development outcomes.

Speaking during the forum, Council Chairperson, Hon. Ignatius Kariseb, reminded the gathering that settlements are managed as local authorities, in accordance with the Regional Councils Act, and should therefore be able to generate revenue from various sources beyond water provision sources.

“The subsidy we receive from central government should be supplementary to our own revenue, yet our own revenue is not enough to fund our projects,” Hon. Kariseb emphasised.

Chief Regional Officer, Pecka Semba, mentioned that the forum is an opportunity for collaboration between settlements in order to build intellectual capacity.

All six settlement offices in the region shared their settlement profiles, economic activities, current revenue sources and proposed new revenue sources. They further shared the key investment areas in their settlements, the challenges they face in collecting revenue and provided recommendations.

The forum compiled a revenue action plan, which Semba indicated that it will be aligned with the Council’s strategic plan.