Elizabeth Hiyolwa
NKURENKURU – During the site visit to government offices under construction in Nkurenkuru, constituency councillor Damian Nakambare opined those awarded State tenders should include locals when recruiting and that they should be paid decent wages.
On the construction site of the regional police headquarters, there was a group of job-seekers, who have been roaming around the site for five months, hoping to secure employment on the construction site.
The councillor said his office received letters of complaints from the public about their grievances regarding the lack of job opportunities for locals. It is on this basis he exhorted regional heads to encourage contractors to employ people from different villages around the region.
“Let locals also benefit from the projects. These people are expected to pay water and electricity; they need to send their children to school, and we are talking about e-learning. Where are these people supposed to get the money?” Nakambare enquired.
He appealed to the regional leadership to work as a team and take services to the people. He further stated there is a need for effective communication among the regional leaders so that they sing from the same hymnal script.
“It is true we have challenges, but we can only address these challenges as a team,” he added.
He emphasised on the need for decentralisation of projects, saying it speeds up processes.
“We have people representing the region for Kavango West but they do not have answers on enquiries. The answer is with Khomas, which is a region on its own,” he complained.
His concerns are parallel to the issue of a new contractor for the Nkurenkuru Health Care Centre, who was expected to be on-site as of last month but to no avail.
The said health centre was identified as the region’s Covid-19 isolation unit; thus, this has become a concern, as it is supposed to be an emergency isolation centre.
During a phone call by the councillor while on-site, an official from the ministry of health head office indicated the subcontractor in charge of electrifying the building will commence next week and the rest will be done after the building has been electrified.
The councillor also cautioned contractors to ensure they use approved materials when constructing so that these buildings are of quality.