Despite millions being poured into Namibia’s agro-processing development projects, little progress has been made.
Findings from the latest follow-up visits by the National Council’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts paint a troubling picture, with many projects still non-operational.
The committee identified these issues during oversight visits conducted last week to assess projects in the //Kharas, Oshana, Zambezi, Kavango West and Otjozondjupa regions.
The agro-processing development projects fall under Vote 19 of the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade (MIT), and are implemented by the Namibia Industrial Development Agency (Nida). The projects are funded by MIT under the special industrialisation programme.
About N$31.2 million was allocated for the programme this financial year.
One such project is the garment factory in Nkurenkuru, which was officially inaugurated by then-vice president Nangolo Mbumba in 2022.
A year after it was inaugurated, the factory is still not operational.
The factory, aimed at stimulating the local economy and generating employment, has faced challenges due to management inefficiencies, insufficient technical expertise and dependence on advanced machinery that requires specialised software unavailable locally.
“Because of the size of the Namibian sector, engineers are expensive, and you can’t have a small factory and employ an expensive engineer solely for that factory,” MIT director Pinehas Shinyala told the committee.
Another white elephant is the northern tannery at Ondangwa, which he said a significant amount of money was invested into.
However, major damage has occurred to the equipment due to nearly three years of inactivity.
As a result, substantial funds will be required to revamp the factory. However, Shinyala said he was unaware of the exact amount needed for the refurbishment.
“Otherwise, I would be here crying or hanging myself somewhere,” he told the committee.
Officials highlighted the project’s struggles, including logistical hurdles, unutilised funds and a lack of consistent investors.
The director added that the N$500 000 allocated to the tannery remains unused.
Fumbled
Although Shinyala said he was not part of negotiations with an Italian investor interested in taking over the project, he admitted the ministry participated in the talks.
“The investor wanted to make the factory productive, but insisted on operating it alongside the Okapuka factory in Windhoek due to the available skilled labour. While the minister was open to the proposal, as noted by the governor, the investor withdrew because Nida was not forthcoming,” he narrated.
Shinyala stressed the need for the ministry to lead all negotiations to completion.
Other dormant projects include the Manyeha crocodile farm in Zambezi, which has been on hold since 2018, and the Biomass project on the outskirts of Otjiwarongo.
Known as the Manyeha Crocodile Leather Processing and Training Centre, this project covers a seven-hectare piece of land, and is supposed to create over 100 temporary jobs during the construction phase.
It has the capacity to create about 60 permanent jobs once fully operational.
The farm was constructed to the tune of N$27 million in 2014.
Meanwhile, the Biomass project, a multimillion-dollar project, is not operational because the primary investors left the country during the Covid-19 pandemic, never to return.
The project is intended to commercially demonstrate the production of animal feed, and packaged charcoal and char from the utilisation of the vast resources of invader bush.
While the operations have still not commenced, the Otjiwarongo municipality’s economic development manager Petros Kuteeue said in an interview with the NBC that foreign funding of an undisclosed amount has been secured for the pilot project to kick-start the Biomass project.
Should its operations finally see the light of day, it is said to birth the mooted multi-million-dollar Biomass Industrial Park project, which was expected to boost Otjiwarongo’s economy through the creation of 300 jobs, while also unlocking business markets for locals.
The talk
Committee member George Garab said stakeholders will have to engage and find common ground on how they are going to solve the issues. Only then can the committee pronounce itself.
The committee visited the regions three years ago and upon their return, none of the issues raised or recommendations given back then were alleviated.
“So, in February, we will engage the board members of Nida, governors, local authorities and everyone involved in the process to find amicable solutions,” Garab noted.