WINDHOEK – The Namibia/Angola Housing Initiative’s (NAAHI) ambitious multi-billion dollar investment plans for Gobabis seem to have turned into a pipe dream.
Unofficial reports are circulating claiming NAAHI may have closed its doors.
Several attempts to reach NAAHI’s founder and director, Jose Oliveira, proved futile, as his mobile number was unavailable, while the local office constantly gave an engagement sound.
Contacted for comment last week, the Gobabis spokesperson Frederick Ueitele said nothing has changed since they requested NAAHI to speak with their lawyer on the way forward.
Gobabis withdrew a resolution that gave land to NAAHI subject to consultations between lawyers of the two entities.
The NAAHI agreement with the town council and the Omaheke Regional Council in March 2012 was to establish an inland terminal, an industrial office complex and corporate park, a mixed-use residential development, a cattle processing cluster-park and an industrial park.
The grand venture was to create in access of 11 000 jobs, but hopes started dwindling last year after it became apparent the 250 hectares of land offered to NAAHI was only a symbolic gesture.
The Gobabis International Logistics Park was to be developed on the eastern side of town along the Trans-Kalahari Highway, but no approval was received from the Ministry of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, which is the custodian of the land.
“They [NAAHI] were supposed to sign an agreement on legal matters with our lawyer, but they never came to us,” said Ueitele, referring this reporter to lawyer Ronald Kurtz, whose services the Gobabis municipality has enlisted.
Kurtz echoed Ueitele’s sentiments saying NAAHI never came back to him either.
When New Era previously contacted Oliveira he said the provision of land was still the “bottleneck” that stalled the initiative, as NAAHI could not develop without this key means of production.
He said they had been clear about going into private public partnership with the municipality to generate revenue for the town, but bureaucracy was stifling the initiative, taking into account that infrastructural funding takes time and the delays could frustrate investors.
NAAHI also had joint ventures with the Walvis Bay Logistics Park, a project aimed at attracting investment to the harbour town.
NAAHI facilitated the Namibian and Angolan businessmen livestock-purchasing venture, which saw the Angolans spend in excess of N$1 million.
The venture came about after a meeting between the Governor of Angola’s Cuando Cubango Province, General Higino Carneiro, and Omaheke Governor Festus Ueitele.