A sizeable number of government projects worth millions of dollars are on the brink of becoming white elephants, while others are facing daily mismanagement by those entrusted to look after them.
This was the finding of the National Council Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Economy.
The committee undertook follow-up regional oversight visits to various agro-processing development projects in the //Kharas, Zambezi, Kavango West, Otjozondjupa and Oshana regions in January.
The projects are all under the stewardship of the Namibia Industrial Development Agency (Nida), which has been tasked with overseeing their full implementation. The first visits were undertaken in October 2023.
The committee also used the visits to evaluate the socio-economic impact of the various projects, and progress at the various sites. The committee was led by its chairperson Peter Kazongominja, and included vice-chairperson Leonard Shikulo, Lonia Kaishungu, Harald Kambrude, Abner Shikongo, George !Garab and Sebastiaan !Gobs. In its report, the committee expressed concern with the Ondangwa tannery project in the Oshana region, which has not been operational for over 11years due to incomplete upgrades and lack of funding.
The committee also highlighted that the tannery is further hamstrung by lack of water and electricity at the premises, which makes it difficult for the caretakers to regularly clean the machines.“There are drums that are still standing with water, and hides since the last operation, which poses possible damage to the drums. There are no developments since the last committee visit in 2023. Prior to the follow-up visit, the committee was briefed by the then Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade and Nida on the progress made as well as on attempts to implement the committee’s recommendations,” reported the committee.
In the Otjozondjupa region, the committee reported no running water at the Boimass Project in Otjiwarongo as well as at the town’s SME Park, while the Omulunga SME Park in Grootfontein also had water supplies cut due to non-payment by Nida.
The committee also complained that the warehouse at the Biomass Project containing animal feed, maize grain and feed crushing machines was found open since the last visit in 2023, and other machines were housed in an old unsecured warehouse outside the project’s vicinity posing the risk of machines being stolen.
At the Manjeha Crocodile farm in the Zambezi region, the committee commended the completion of a new fence at the facility, which was constructed by the National Youth Services at the cost of about N$1,3 million in September last year to prevent vandalism.
However, it was observed that the facility still had broken streetlights, damaged thatch roofs and the incomplete buildings were generally in a deteriorating state.
On the brink
In the //Karas region, the committee observed vandalism and abandonment of various projects due to non-payment of water and electricity by Nida. It was reported that the Naute Irrigation Project is run with petty cash of N$5 000 per month, which the committee said is not sufficient for the basic necessities required to efficiently run the farm.
Furthermore, the committee noted that the Naute Kristel Distillery owned by a private tenant still receives free raw materials (grapes and dates) from the farm and uses free water and electricity from the farm, for which Nida has failed to explain what benefits government or the agency gets from this arrangement.
The committee also visited farms and various state-funded projects in the Kavango West, where it observed that after its 2023 site visit, there has been slight improvements at various government farms as constant supply of diesel, cattle licks, medications, N$5 000 petty cash per month and two brand new cars had been implemented.
“We were informed that 98-99% of the cattle at the farm had been tagged. The committee observed that one farm only had 52 bulls for over 400 cows and that is not a sufficient ratio as per standard best practise of one bull per 25 cows. We also observed that the current structure of the farm in terms of human resources consist of a farm manager and assistant farm manager. This staffing norm does not allow for proper management of the farm of approximately 223 894 hectares,” the committee reported.
It also highlighted in the report that there are still no activities taking place at Nkurenkuru Garment Factory since the last visit in 2023, and Nida has not indicated any plans to commence operations at the project.
After the follow-up visits to the projects countrywide, the committee held a stakeholder engagement in Windhoek to discuss all the issues affecting projects as contained in the report and made numerous recommendations that will help remedy the situation and save taxpayers millions of dollars.
– ohembapu@nepc.com.na