RUNDU – The works ministry and a  contractor, who was initially offered  a contract to construct the fisheries  ministry regional headquarters at  Rundu about nine years ago, have seemingly smoked the peace pipe. 

The massive delay in completing the project has resulted in works minister John Mutorwa instructing officials to see to that issues delaying the project are ironed out. Government has spent about N$28 million on the project, including consultancy fees in the region of N$4 million, while the fisheries ministry has taken up renting space at the Namibia Industrial Development Agency (NIDA) in Rundu at a monthly cost of N$27 000.

Just recently, Mutorwa along with his counterpart fisheries minister Albert Kawana visited the site to acquaint themselves on the abandoned project as well as held a meeting with staff of both ministries to find a solution to complete the project.

“We visited the site to ascertain the status of the project and to collectively resolve on the way forward to ensure the successful completion of the project. 

During the site visit, a background of the investigations into the abandoned project was presented,” Mutorwa informed New Era. 

After visiting the site, the two ministries resolved that the tender to complete the construction of the office should be given back to Oume Construction, the same company that was initially offered the contract. Oume Construction was contracted in 2012 by the works ministry to construct the Rundu office at a cost of N$14 million. However, work on the project came to a standstill after the ministry of works reportedly refused to pay the contractor due to unclear reasons. This led to a dispute resulting in the termination of the contract by the works ministry on 19 January 2015. Africa Civil Engineering was appointed to work on the project on 6 August 2015 at a cost of N$16 million, but this contract was also terminated on 30 October 2018. “He too encountered problems with payment and tendered rates. In his case the principal agent recommended a revision of rates, however, it was rejected,” Mutorwa noted. According to Mutorwa, the disputes declared by the two contractors appeared not to have been dealt with in a fair and transparent manner as both contractors complained of non-payment and the inability of the consultant team to perform effective on-site supervision. Mutorwa further said the process of looking into the abandoned government projects started after the conclusion of the town hall meetings conducted by President Hage Geingob during the second half of 2019 where the issue of unfinished projects was brought to the attention of the President. An instruction was further made to all regions to submit a list of all abandoned and incomplete capital projects. “Such lists were submitted, collated and forwarded to the Ministry of Works and Transport during the first half of 2020 where the said ministry was tasked to physically inspect and assess the status of all such projects, and to submit a comprehensive report,” Mutorwa said. Mutorwa added his ministry completed the said assignment in June 2020 and that a public statement was made in this respect in July 2020 where the public was duly informed of the status and the next step, which is to recommend actions to complete such projects. “In view of the economic downturn, a directive was issued by the Presidency in June 2020 to give priority to those projects which were near completion. This regional office project is highlighted by the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources as one such project which is near completion and is a high priority. Hence, they also initiated a joint inspection of all such priority projects. It is for this reason that the site visit was undertaken,” he said. Fisheries ministry spokesperson Rauna Kalola said the office will house a number of staff. “Once completed the regional office will house fisheries inspectors, aquaculture personnel and inland fisheries researchers and through improved public service delivery both Kavango regions will be diligently served,” she said. “The facility will effectively provide services to the public and rural communities of both Kavango regions at large.”

jmuyamba@nepc.com.na