By Edgar Brandt
WINDHOEK – The three small and medium enterprise (SME) development contracts terminated by the Roads Authority (RA) last week for the blading of roads within the Mariental area were worth between N$12.5 million and N$13 million each.
The RA terminated the contracts after discovering that the three contractors furnished falsified copies of good standing certificates during the pre-qualification stage of the tenders.
The RA further revealed that the SME contractors, Isaak Contractor, Afrikaner Contractor and !Khob Contractor, which were awarded contracts for blading of gravel roads in the Hardap Region close to Mariental for a 60-month period, normally have only two permanent staff – one operator and one labourer. “Indication was already received that some of the personnel will only be transferred to the main contractors, such as Quiver Tree Investment & CSV SUM SENO, for employment,” commented the RA’s Corporate Communication Officer, Ndahafa Nakwafila, Ndahafa.
“The RA will not tolerate the use of dishonest and illegal methods to obtain tenders and those who are found to have committed illegal practices will be dealt with accordingly,” said RA’s chief executive officer, Conrad Lutombi, last week when announcing the termination of the contracts.
Lutombi went on to say that the RA is committed to developing, supporting and offering a fair opportunity to all SMEs in road construction and maintenance. “We will continue to assist upcoming entrepreneurs in building and operating commercially viable SMEs which will contribute to efforts by our government to create employment opportunities and capacity building and alleviate poverty.” Lutombi also assured the public that measures have been put in place to ensure that the blading of gravel roads in the Hardap Region will continue until new contracts have been awarded.