The ||Kharas Regional Council still needs an additional N.dollars 17 million to complete its office park at Keetmanshoop.

The construction of the four-storey complex which commenced in 2016 is 95 per cent complete, it said, and is expected to cost the council close to N.dollars 171 million.

The tender was awarded to state-owned August 26 UBM Construction.

To date N.dollars 134 million has been utilised and for the financial year 2023/2024, N.dollars 20 million was allocated to the project.

Speaking at the ||Kharas Regional Development Coordination Committee meeting on Wednesday, the regional council’s Acting Director of Planning and Development Service, Megameno Shikongo said the project continues to receive insufficient budget allocation and this hinders its completion.

“By next year if the money is available, we should be able to finish the project, as you can see most of our projects receive insufficient funds, we really need to take it up with the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development to allocate the necessary funds to develop the region,” he said.

Shikongo also revealed that the Karasburg West Constituency office needs N.dollars 20 million to see its completion. The construction that started in 2015 was supposed to cost Government 14 million. The project is said to be 87 per cent complete.

Oranjemund Constituency Councillor, Lazarus Nangolo on his part said: “We need to figure out why there are these delays, whose fault is it, is it Central Government, regional council or the administrators that are to be blamed. We need to implement projects in a timely manner.”

Nangolo said when projects are delayed factors such as inflation rates and others cause such projects to be costly.

He advised that the Acting Chief Regional Officer (Benedictus Diergaardt) and the council development department identify projects that are nearing completion in the region and engage the relevant line ministries so that such projects are completed.

!Nami#Nus Constituency councillor Susan Ndjaleka questioned why the regional council could not call for expressions of interest from the private sector to ensure that necessary funds are acquired to complete the projects.

“Incomplete project does not give a good picture, if Government does not have enough money the private sector can put the rest of what is needed in terms of grants or so. In that way they are assisting the government to deliver services to the inhabitants,” said Ndjaleka.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency