Windhoek
Almost seven solid years have gone unnoticed since the groundbreaking ceremony of the much-trumpeted multi-purpose Olympic Stadium that was to be built in the tiny mountainous town of Omaruru, North-West of Namibia’s commercial capital, Windhoek.
New Era Sports has established that construction to the envisaged multi facet sports facilities has grounded upon the successful completion of the first phase.
As part of its social responsibilities, the Omaruru Town Council undertook to debush the large piece of land and also erected a wiring fence around the stadium.
The envisaged multi-purpose centre is a community based project initiated by the Olympic Africa Foundation, a subsidiary arm of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was to serve disadvantaged communities in the Erongo region and its surroundings.
The half built stadium is an eyesore with no signs of further development in sight with the town’s residents blaming the drawn out suspension of local councillors for the chaotic situation.
Closer inspection led our team to the Namibia Olympic Committee (NOC) where we sought clarity of ownership and who should be responsible for the construction of the multi-purpose facility.
“It’s indeed true that the process has hit a brick wall but this can be attributed to the indefinite grounding of the Town Council. It was supposed to be a joint venture between the NOC and the Omaruru Town Council,” charged NOC Secretary General, Joan Smit.
Smit says NOC has already availed funds to facilitate the leveling of the playing surface and has also purchased equipment such as tennis nets, netball and basketball loops and poles.
“It’s all about the availability of funds, should we manage to solicit sufficient funds, we are likely to move to the next phase and build a stadium to accommodate athletes during the course of their activities,” Smit stated. She adds that an amount of approximately N$2.2 million is needed to complete that process.
“We need funds to get the project off the ground and since that should be a joint effort between the NOC and the Omaruru Town Council, there is nothing that we can do until the matter of the suspended town council is resolved,” she concluded.