The City of Windhoek says it might seek legislative amendments to the Local Authorities Act to continue its fibre commercialisation project.

This is after the Supreme Court ruled that the municipality does not have the legal authority to provide telecommunications services to residents.

City spokesperson Lydia Amutenya on Monday said the municipality is studying the judgement and considering its next steps.

She said the ruling does not change the importance of the city’s fibre network plans.

Amutenya said the city still views fibre commercialisation as important to its smart city ambitions.

“The city still believes that the monetisation of its fibre is still essential for the objective of a smart city and may, through the line ministry [Ministry of Urban and Rural Development], seek legislative amendments to proceed with the project,” she said.

Amutenya said the ruling is unlikely to derail the municipality’s long-term digital plans, adding that no money has been spent on the fibre commercialisation component of the project.

The Supreme Court found that the Local Authorities Act does not include telecommunications services among the powers granted to local authorities in Namibia.

In 2017, the city applied to the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) for a licence to commercialise its fibre network in partnership with Telecom Namibia.

Paratus objected to the application, arguing that the city did not have the legal authority to offer telecommunications services.

Although Cran granted the city a comprehensive telecommunications licence in 2020 and later upheld that decision, Paratus successfully challenged it in the High Court in 2023.

The court then found that interested parties were not provided an opportunity to comment after Cran awarded a different licence from the one the city had originally applied for.

The matter later reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that local authorities are not legally allowed to commercialise telecommunications services under the Local Authorities Act.

The city council’s original resolution did not authorise the comprehensive licence granted by Cran, according to the Supreme Court’s findings.

The ruling came at a time when the city recently reported progress on its fibre commercialisation project.

Two weeks ago, Windhoek mayor Sakarias Uunona said the first phase of the fibre commercialisation project had been completed and it identified business opportunities and developed a model to make the city’s fibre network commercially viable.

Urban and rural development minister James Sankwasa says the Local Authorities Act is already before parliament for amendment, but any changes will apply to all local authorities.

“We do not amend an act for a particular city,” Sankwasa says.

REVENUE PRESSURE

Popular Democratic Movement councillor Ignatius Semba says the public needs to understand why the city is considering commercialising its fibre.

Semba says local authorities face growing financial pressure and need to find additional income streams to remain sustainable.

He says the law should be amended if local authorities are expected to meet growing demands without receiving more funds.

Semba suggests that section 30 of the act be amended to allow municipalities flexibility to pursue projects linked to smart city development.

He says any changes should not place local authorities in direct competition with private telecommunications companies.

Political analyst Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro says one of the key concerns is whether the city could face a conflict of interest if it enters the telecommunications sector, while also regulating and facilitating services for private operators.

“The city is supposed to create a conducive environment for businesses.

If it enters the same space as the companies it is expected to facilitate, there is a question about how it would fairly deal with all service providers.”

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