2016-03-02Staff Report 2 Keetmanshoop Some of the damaged classrooms at Vaalgras Primary School will finally get new roofing following an order by the governor’s office. Lukas Shekwanyena the personal assistant to Lucia Basson the //Karas governor revealed to New Era that after a dialogue with the community of Vaalgras a few weeks back a commitment was made to put up roofs for classrooms and the administration block that were damaged by a raging storm in 2014. Shekwanyena told New Era that the governor’s office will fund the roofing from the N$255 000 donated by Namsov to the governor’s office. “The governor’s office will put up the roofs on some classrooms,” he said, adding that the governor is also frustrated with the delay in repairing the roofing. He said that work was expected to start yesterday. Building inspectors were already on site to assess the damage and the feedback was positive. He however underlined that the work to be done is only on the roofing of classrooms and the administration block that were damaged and not on the entire school building. Governor Basson confirmed her office’s commitment to the school, saying it is necessary because old classrooms cannot be allowed to become white elephants but should be kept in a state of use for future generations. Basson taught at the school from 1974 before she became a politician. Meanwhile, the Education, Arts and Culture Minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa took to Facebook to justify the delay by her ministry to respond to the emergency since 2014. Reacting to some public comments on New Era’s Facebook page on the story headlined ‘Vaalgras classrooms without roofs since 2014’ on February 25, Hanse-Himarwa shared information on how the government operates with regard to procurement, while highlighting that she has only been in office for a short time. “Governments don’t sell and buy like you and me. Public funds must be accounted for, therefore procedures for public procurement are followed. The public must understand how government operates,” she replied to one user who asked her if she had seen the article. Further responding to Facebook users who blamed government for situations like this, she explained government does not only consist of Swapo, neither do institutions only comprise of Swapo members, adding that infrastructure is generally addressed as a priority by her ministry. 2016-03-02Staff Report 2
