Windhoek
Four days after New Era reported on the construction of the state-of-the-art Ondangwa laboratory and clinic being on ice for 18 months since 2014 and veterinarians working in a dilapidated building, the Minister of Agriculture, Water and Forestry John Mutorwa yesterday announced funds would be made available to at least complete the bulk earthworks (Phase 1) of the promised modern vet facility.
The veterinary facility and clinic will cost some N$67 million.
Mutorwa says a financial certificate was issued on January 14 and forwarded to the Department of Works. He confirmed the Department of Works is now in the process to sign the contract with Cango Construction CC to finish the remaining works of Phase 1 (bulk earthworks).
The tender for phase 2 (actual building construction) was already awarded to Cango Construction CC on November 26 2014, but pending the completion of Phase 1.
Mutorwa urged members of the public, particularly the northern communal farmers, to be patient while his ministry completes the construction of a lab that is supposed to become the regional centre of excellence in animal disease control and which would improve current efforts to work towards the suppression of animal diseases, like foot-and-mouth and rabies.
It would also improve relationships with current and future trading partners.
The initial tender (F1/10/1-32/201) was awarded to Dankie Jnr Investment CC and the ground-breaking ceremony and the official site handover to the contractor were presided over by Mutorwa on July 16 2014. The contract was subsequently signed in retrospect of the site handover date (July 16 2014) on July 29 2014.
The contractor failed to bring the work to practical completion on the original contractual practical completion date of November 13 2014. Several meetings were held between the contractor, consultants and Department of Works officials to try and rescue the situation.
On 22 January 2015, the contractor produced a revised programme of works in which he indicated an anticipated practical completion date of 24 March 2015. Provisionally on March 3, 2015, the contractor wrote to the principal agent requesting a cessation and to be released from the contract. On March 20 2015 the contractor again wrote to the Ministry of Works and Transport requesting a cessation and release from the contract.
It was established that on March 03, 2015 the contractor had already vacated the site. The contractor remained evasive and never responded to the written notice issued to him by the principal agent. On March 19, 2015, the principal agent advised the Department of Works of these developments and recommended a determination of contract.
The Ministry of Works and Transport recommended to the Tender Board on April 23, 2015 to determine the contract of Dankie Jnr Investment CC for the provision of bulk earthworks (Phase 1) and to cancel the award of Tender F1/10/1-32/2013, and to complete the outstanding work as a variation order under another contract namely Tender F1/10/1-4/2014 that was awarded to Cango Construction CC on the same site for the construction of the actual building works (Phase 2 of the project).
The Tender Board declined the request to award outstanding works for tender number F1/10/1-31/2013 to Cango Construction CC, and advised the Ministry of Works and Transport to do proper assessment and a viable way of presenting the submission.
The Ministry of Works and Transport was then directed by the Tender Board to call for tenders to complete the outstanding works on cancelled tender F1/10/1-32/2013.
“The fact that the construction of the physical building cannot proceed until the earthworks are completed has delayed the site handover on a tender that has already been awarded and is causing serious consequences on the financing of this project due to funds used for other capital projects,” Mutorwa says.
On September 03, 2015, the Department of Works was about to award the tender to Cango Construction CC but in November 2015 funds for the project were depleted and they were told to halt the signing after finalising the tender processes recommended to the Tender Board.