Maria David
MINISTER of Works and Transport, Veikko Nekundi, has declared his intention to move away from budgeting for gravel roads, instead prioritising the construction of permanent, standard road infrastructure.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Omuthiya-Elambo road construction on Monday, Nekundi said that money has been thrown into the sand for too long, with hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted each week on re-gravelling and re-grading.
“This year, nearly a billion dollars has been budgeted for re-gravelling, and that is funds we could have redirected to constructing proper road infrastructure in the country,” he said.
Nekundi emphasised that the policy directive to move away from gravel roads is clear and must be taken seriously.
The Minister also used the opportunity to remind the Roads Authority (RA) to ensure a higher level of accountability and stricter financial management in all ongoing projects.
He stressed that the RA is responsible for ensuring public funds are not misused.
Nekundi highlighted his concern regarding the oversight of project consultants.
He said that they are not RA employees and must be held accountable for their work, with any inaction addressed promptly.
He further called on contractors to ensure that projects are completed within their allocated budgets, noting that they should ensure that the projects are done within the project’s funds.
“I don’t want to see funds being over-allocated,” he added.
Nekundi also addressed the persistent issue of delayed payments to contractors, which has a ripple effect on project timelines and the financial stability of local businesses.
He called for contractors to be paid on time and, in turn, for them to ensure timely payments to their subcontractors.
Nekundi issued a stern warning, threatening to blacklist contractors who abuse their power and mistreat their subcontractors.
Speaking at the same occasion, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy to Namibia, Hauke Brankamp, indicated that Namibia has managed to invent its own innovative construction techniques: the salt roads.
He said that in the coastal areas, salt is used to construct longer-lasting roads, and the Namibian weather conditions actually ensure that these last.
However, he said some regions in Namibia still experience a lack of sufficient road infrastructure. In some areas, small paths still exist, and these pose big challenges to the vehicles using them.
“Therefore, Germany supports Namibia to overcome these challenges. In the now sixth funding phase of labour-based road construction, we have been jointly enlarging the network of district roads in the central north,” he said.
He added that the phase focuses on 250 km of district roads in the regions of Ohangwena, Omusati, and Oshikoto.
Brankamp revealed that the German financial contribution to the project amounts to a total of about N$500 million, while the Namibian government contributes another N$350 million.
