Query: How much has the ministry set aside for the first phase of the construction of the Uvhungu-Vhungu dairy project and when will construction start?
Response: The construction phase already commenced in 2012 with the construction of the boundary fence and subsequent contracts, such as bulk earthworks, water supply and irrigation systems. The concrete works have been completed. The ministry has spent about N$100 million on the project to date. For the 2016/17 financial year (budget) the ministry has set aside about N$35 million for the work that is currently ongoing.
Query: What is the estimated cost of the Uvhungu-vhungu Dairy project once it is completed?
Response: The project is estimated to cost about N$250 million.
Query: Where will the facility be stationed (Region and Town) and who are the contractors?
Response: The project is situated at the Uvhungu-Vhungu farm about 10 km east of Rundu in the Kavango East Region. Several contractors were and are involved during the different project stages and areas of services required, including Kashies Trading Enterprises (fencing contractor), Gecko Mining and Tix Investment JV (bulk earthworks and concrete contractor), SureCast Mining & Construction (sheds contractor), Irritech-Greenpark JV (water supply and irrigation contractor), MPP Civils Namibia (animal buildings and structures contractor), Nawa Electric (bulk electrical supply contractor), Kashoro Construction (water treatment and reticulation contractor).
Query: I would urgently like to know what the status is of Okwanyama herders/owners of cattle that were moved from Kavango West to Farms 7, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 15 in the Mangetti area in 2009 with their 4 000 heads of cattle after conflict with the Uukwangali Traditional Authority.
Response: The Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) can only confirm that the farmers are still on the farms. NDC is not involved with any management or support functions and does not have access to the farms without the permission of the veterinary control official.
Query: The Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry had then entered into a 12-month lease agreement with the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) to keep the Okwanyama herders/owners of cattle in the Mangetti area, initially for a one-year period (from June 2009 to July 2010). This lease agreement was subsequently extended to August 2011. Has this agreement in the meantime been extended for a further period?
Response: The agreement is not with the Ministry of Agriculture, but with the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development (formerly the Ministry of Regional and Local Government and Housing and Rural Development). The agreement was extended to August 2011 and was not formally extended thereafter. However, as alternative grazing areas were not identified the farmers did not move out of the farms.
Margaret Kalo, senior public relations officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, E-mail: kalom@mawrd.gov.na