2015-11-23Staff Report 2 Windhoek Plans are underway to award the financially crippled Roads Contractor Company (RCC) the multi-million dollar contract to service land in Goreangab Extension 4 under the mass urban land-servicing project, sources said. New Era understands that a final decision still has to be made on whether RCC should be handed the multi-million dollar job. “So far RCC is the favoured option, but it is not final,” said a well-placed source. The source also indicated that the City of Windhoek must still decide whether the job will be put out on tender or just handed directly to the RCC. Without going into much detail, City of Windhoek spokesman Joshua Amukugo last week confirmed that “talks have been making the rounds” regarding the imminent appointment of the RCC. Preliminary estimates by experts indicated that it would cost government anything between N$45 million and N$55 million to service the 15.8-hectare area in the envisaged extension. Given this figure, the cost to service one plot will range between N$134 000 and N$163 000. Efforts to get a response from the chairperson of the mass urban land servicing project committee, Daniel Nghidinua, proved futile, as questions sent to him via email last week yielded no response. New Era sent Nghidinua questions related to speculation that RCC will be appointed to service Goreangab Extension 4. During an earlier interview with New Era, Windhoek Consulting Engineers (WCE) said that about 338 plots could be serviced in the area. WCE has a big role to play in the implementation of the project, having availed its engineering design and project management services to government for free for Goreangab Extension 4. According to a standing agreement between WCE and the City of Windhoek, once the designs are complete, WCE will draw up the tenders for the actual construction of the services as well as the evaluation of tenders submitted by contractors. The environmental impact assessment for service provision for Goreangab Extension 4 Township is already done. The RCC did not have it financially easy this year, so much so that its bank account was frozen due to failure to pay value added tax. RCC has not been paying VAT since 2006. The situation was so dire, sources in the Roads Authority claim, that it affected the relationship between the company and the Roads Authority, which was not satisfied with the manner in which RCC executed some road projects. Earlier this year it was reported that the Ministry of Works and Transport awarded the financially fragile parastatal three road construction projects as a bailout. Cabinet was also so displeased with RCC’s state of affairs that it tasked the cabinet committee on treasury to find a solution to the problem. Many have questioned whether RCC, if handed the job, would be able to execute it properly. Cabinet appointed a new RCC board last month. The board members are Fritz Jacobs, Anna Matebele (vice-chairperson), Elzevir Geldenbloem, Elsie Skrywer and Melkizedek Uupindi. While delivering his mid-term budget review speech in the National Assembly earlier this month, finance minister Calle Schlettwein announced that treasury allocated N$121 million to the land-servicing project. 2015-11-23Staff Report 2
