Adolf Kaure
The Rundu Town Council has received N$109 million from the Road Fund Administration (RFA) since the 2022/2023 financial, to rehabilitate roads.
This is through a three-year tripartite agreement signed in November 2022 between the RFA, the Roads Authority (RA) and local authorities countrywide.
The funds made available were used to rehabilitate five roads in Rundu.
This included the 1.6km Amta Road completed in February 2025 for N$18 million, the 2.5km Dr. Samuel Kaveto Mbambo Road (commonly known as Unam Road) completed in June 2025 to the tune of N$24 million.
Earlier projects include the 5.2km Sam Nujoma Road, completed in June 2023 at N$48 million, as well as the 2km John Mutorwa Road, completed in May 2024 for N$11 million.
The Maria Mwengere Road is another Rundu road completed last year in September for a cost of N$8.3 million. The Rundu Town Council has earmarked two projects to be completed in April 2026. These include the 1.1 km Simtentu Mpasi Road for N$14.2 million as well as the 500 metres Haingura Misse Road for a cost of N$5.9 million.
The RFA and RA have reassured the Rundu Town Council that they are committed to renewing the agreement, which was well received by acting Rundu CEO Sakaria Shopati.
“This means that we do foresee more infrastructure upgrades in terms of the road network on new urban roads in the next three years. So, that is good news for us, and we are very grateful for that,” said Shopati.
For the current financial year, the RFA has provided N$8.9 million. Shopati stated the importance of upgrading the Haingura Misse Road during the RFA’s site visit on Wednesday in Rundu.
“The street is housing most of the government ministries like the government garage, NamWater offices, Intelligence Veterinary, Rundu Town Council Technical Department, entrance to the State hospital and ministry of education,” he said.
“There are quite a lot of public offices and amenities, and that is why it is very important to be upgraded.”
The acting CEO also highlighted why the Rundu Town Council has prioritised the road, stating that it was affected by heavy rainfall, leaving it in a bad condition.
“We have previously tried to regravel it, but after every rainy season, the gravel gets washed away. That is where we felt that it would be in the best interest of the public for us to put the funds to good use and utilise value for money by upgrading this road from gravel to low-volume seal associated with stormwater infrastructure on the side so that the infrastructure is protected and its lifespan, he said.”
The roadworks started on 7 November this year. The six-month project is expected to be completed in April 2026.
RFA’s manager of corporate services, Ferdinand Molale, re-emphasised the parastatal’s mandate and urged the Rundu council to find strategic ways to generate revenue.
“For the parties, the most important thing is that the money is utilised and is put to good use. In this case, we can really see from the roads you described here and what you have unpacked with the funds and the transformation and how that helped with decongesting the town – it is really a good thing,” said Molale.
The site visit was part of the RFA’s road tour to key local authorities aimed at assessing the progress of road infrastructure.