Border post housing stalls after contractor exit
• Committee raises alarm over stalled housing scheme
Building supplies worth millions have been left to decay in harsh weather for nearly three years.
Phillipus JosefRundu
The National Council’s standing committee on home affairs, security, constitutional and legal affairs has voiced concern over unfinished units and abandoned housing materials at the Mamuno Border Post in the Omaheke region.
During an oversight visit yesterday, members of the committee found prefabricated building materials worth millions of dollars that had been left exposed to the elements for nearly three years.
The materials were intended for a project to build nine additional staff houses under the One Stop Border Post initiative.
Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) principal customs and excise officer Festus Shidute told the committee that about four contractors had been involved in the project during its later stages.
He said the final contractor abandoned the site, citing underquoting as the reason for withdrawal.
Shidute noted that while 21 of the planned 30 prefabricated houses had been completed, the remainder stalled when the contractor pulled out.
He added that he was not aware whether the contractor had been paid before abandoning the site, but confirmed that the materials and partially built structures have since been left to deteriorate.
The committee’s visit was part of its ongoing oversight of national border posts, following recommendations made in 2022 to ministries to address infrastructure and operational challenges at entry points across the country.
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The National Council’s standing committee on home affairs, security, constitutional and legal affairs has voiced concern over unfinished units and abandoned housing materials at the Mamuno Border Post in the Omaheke region.
During an oversight visit yesterday, members of the committee found prefabricated building materials worth millions of dollars that had been left exposed to the elements for nearly three years.
The materials were intended for a project to build nine additional staff houses under the One Stop Border Post initiative.
Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) principal customs and excise officer Festus Shidute told the committee that about four contractors had been involved in the project during its later stages.
He said the final contractor abandoned the site, citing underquoting as the reason for withdrawal.
Shidute noted that while 21 of the planned 30 prefabricated houses had been completed, the remainder stalled when the contractor pulled out.
He added that he was not aware whether the contractor had been paid before abandoning the site, but confirmed that the materials and partially built structures have since been left to deteriorate.
The committee’s visit was part of its ongoing oversight of national border posts, following recommendations made in 2022 to ministries to address infrastructure and operational challenges at entry points across the country.
[email protected]
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