Maria David
THE government of Germany continues to invest heavily in road network infrastructure development by availing financial support.
This is evident with the German Development Bank, KfW, a key investor in this phase of the project, providing a N$500 million grant from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Omuthiya–Elambo road construction on Monday, KfW Director Beatrice Lucke said the initiative is designed to empower local communities by exclusively contracting Namibian-owned companies for construction and including local SMEs as subcontractors.
Lucke indicated that this project is part of the sixth financing phase of a larger labour-based road construction initiative.
“The German investment will support the construction of seven roads, totalling over 250 km in northern Namibia,” she said.
She added that seven roads will be built in total with the funding. Five consulting contracts have been given to Namibian engineering firms, and seven construction contracts will be implemented by solely Namibian-owned companies.
Lucke indicated that this approach is expected to significantly benefit rural communities by injecting cash into local economies, creating employment, and providing useful skills.
She said that it is estimated that for every 100 km of road constructed, approximately 1,000 local workers will find temporary employment.
Further, Lucke said the rate of women in these projects is as high as 30% of the workers. Thus, a considerable contribution of income also goes directly to women, and from a gender perspective, this helps to strengthen their vital role.
“The specific construction approach has the potential of reducing rural-urban migration and boosting economic development, particularly in agriculture,” she added.
She stressed that if properly managed, it is a powerful tool for employment creation and redistribution of wealth. These roads also help to reduce the time and the costs of private and public transport in the long run.
Moreover, Lucke indicated that the German Government, through the KfW Development Bank, is currently supporting the Namibian partners in several sectors: besides the road network, it stretches from support to the National Parks and MEFT, which you can see in Etosha, to crucial water infrastructure — such as the water pipeline from the Calueque Dam via Oshakati to Omuthiya — as well as renewable energy.
“We are currently financing the first large-scale solar park in the South,” she said.
She said that these activities and many more all add to the joint efforts to develop especially the rural areas of this country, and these roads will form the arteries to make movement, trade, and social inclusion possible.
