By Petronella Sibeene
WINDHOEK
Government yesterday held a one-day workshop that will draw a framework for acquiring office accommodation through public-private partnership (PPP).
The Minister of Works, Transport and Communication, Joel Kaapanda, yesterday said government faced office accommodation problems and that given a limited budget, PPP is the way to go in addressing this problem.
Ministries mostly affected are Finance, Safety and Security, Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, Gender Equality and Child Welfare, and other government agencies such as the Electoral Commission.
“After realizing the constraint, the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication proposed and initiated to Cabinet last year to approve in principle to deliver office space through PPP,” Kaapanda said.
Cabinet approved the proposal and since last year, relevant ministries have been engaged in consultations on how best PPP can be implemented.
“It is hoped that after the workshop and consultations, Namibia will be able to develop its own framework for PPP standardization and implementation,” the minister said.
“The provision for accommodation through PPP will not only provide office space but also create employment and reduce poverty,” he said.
Once implemented, the initiative will entail that the private sector builds office space and government will “rent.” Based on the contract, government will be paying monthly installments and at the end of the contract, the property will be transferred to government.
Germany consultant Hans Wilhelm Alfen, who specializes in PPP and infrastructure, said the company from which government will lease office space will be responsible for maintenance and will bring in technology.
” This will help government. Initiatives such as this in other countries have resulted in efficiency gains of about 17 percent,” he said.
The workshop was held with the support of the German Technical Cooperation organisation.