Steven Klukowski

KEETMANSHOOP – Despite losing more than 50 percent of its budget allocation due to government’s austerity measures during the previous financial year, the //Kharas Regional Council succeeded in awarding all its capital project tenders accordingly.
This is according to Chief Regional Officer (CRO), Beatus Kasete, when he reported on the council’s affairs for the past year. “For the 2019/2020 financial year, we pro-actively ensured through deliberate actions that we will not allow a single cent allocated to the regional council to return to treasury,” he explained as one of the strategies applied for their success.  
Highlighting the on-going construction of the //Kharas Regional Council Office Park, he indicated that expectations is for it to be completed by the end of the coming financial year.
Other capital projects entail the construction of water-and-sewerage services in the region.
In terms of rural development services, Kasete reported that council is planning to put up a wool processing factory at Snyfontein in the Berseba constituency. “Following our familiarisation visit to similar factories in Italy last year, we can add value to the wool obtained from the Karakul sheep in the region, thus generating more financial resources and also creating employment opportunities,” he emphasised.
Another milestone reached according to the CRO was that council has now received the equipment to produce mango juice in the region which will enable it to generate more revenue in the process. The CRO further informed the audience that his office has successfully completed several projects with Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds received from the Ministry of Finance. This he said includes amongst other construction services and the handing over of equipment to Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
“We have successfully facilitated the tripartite agreement between Tshipi e Ntle Mine, Trade Port Namibia, Namport and TransNamib for the export of manganese from the Northern Cape Province via the Port of Lüderitz to international destinations,” explained Kasete when touching on twinning agreements.
He added that this has attracted investments of close to N$20 million whilst creating more than 100 employment opportunities. In addition, there are joint continuous professional development programmes in place in the areas of education, sports and culture between the two regions,” Kasete emphasised.
As part of council’s social responsibility, the CRO explained that they have amongst others financially assisted tertiary students, regional youth soccer teams and vulnerable community members. “The regional council furthermore managed to build the new !Garibams Secondary School which opened this year,” he said. He continued that the regional council also constructed various classrooms and early childhood centres apart from upgrading/renovating other schools.
The CRO urged staff members to always adhere to the procedures as prescribed in the Public Procurement Act as this will not only ensure good auditing reports, but also fast track development in the region since it will prevent delays in the implementation of projects.