KEETMANSHOOP – Despite receiving insufficient funding since the 2020/2021 financial year, the management of //Kharas Regional Council managed to ensure a 97% completion rate of the regional office park.
According to Megameno Shikongo, acting director for planning and rural services at KRC, they requested an amount of N$50 million for the completion of the office park for the 2022/2023 financial year but only received N$10 million.
“In addition, our certified expenses for the capital project amounted to N$14 million for the same period,” Shikongo said during a regional development committee meeting held last week in Keetmanshoop. He also raised the hope that council staff members can move into their offices at the park by the end of this year or early 2024.
In terms of construction services for Aus, in the !Nami#Nus constituency, he said N$7 million have been requested from central government but that the regional council only received N$236 000.
He also noted that no new project implementation can take place at the settlement office, as the allocated budget is lower that the invoices brought forward from the previous financial year (N$366 000).
“On a positive note, the construction of services at Grunau, Noordoewer, Ariamsvlei and Kosis have been completed 100% whilst the Karasburg West constituency office is now 87% complete despite insufficient budget allocations,” said Shikongo.
In terms of capital projects resorting under the Ministry of Health and Social Services, it has been reported that the Aussenkehr health centre, which will cost government more than N$70 million, reached a completion of 47% whilst the construction of new TB wards at the Keetmanshoop hospital are 95% completed at a cost of more than N$9 million.
The feedback report continued that the construction of new staff accommodation at Ariamsvlei for health workers, costing close to N$6 million is at 35% thus far with health personnel at Noordoewer’s new staff accommodation 7% completed at a cost of close to N$7 million.
After several complaints from Keetmanshoop residents for the State hospital’s southern gate to be re-opened it has been reported that the project is now 95% complete at a cost of N$225 000.
For the 2022/2023 financial year, //Kharas regional education directorate reported to have constructed eight classrooms and one storeroom at Aussenkehr Primary School, costing close to N$2 million.
The feedback session also heard that at Aussenkehr, two European Union-funded pre-primary classrooms were constructed at a cost of more than N$700 000. Minor renovations were also carried out at educational institutions in the region during the period under review and at a cost of N$877 126.74.
Prioritised capital projects reported for the current financial year entails the construction of classrooms to a value of more than N$900 000.