Blacklist failing contractors – Nde
The inspector-general of the Namibian police, Sebastian Ndeitunga, says contractors who abandon government projects should be blacklisted because they waste the government's time and money.
Ndeitunga said the current situation where building contracts are merely terminated after several warnings was not working. Contractors who fail to complete projects should not be awarded any further public tenders. “Some of the contractors are not serious at all. Instead of spending money on buying materials and paying their workers, they first go and buy expensive vehicles. They are wasting the government's time and money. All projects have a timeframe as to when they should start and be completed,” Ndeitunga said.
Ndeitunga statement follows Namibian Sun's enquiry regarding the N$54 million dollar Omusati regional police headquarters being built in Outapi. On 5 June Namibian Sun reported that the construction had come to a standstill after the contractor, Amupolo Building Construction CC, owned by Erasmus Amupolo, had been removed from the site on the basis of poor performance, as some of the completed work had been done poorly. The project had been scheduled for completion on 23 May 2015. When Namibian Sun visited the site last week, employees of the Ministry of Safety and Security's procurement and logistics division were working to complete the project.
The workers will complete the outstanding work and mend the areas that were poorly done.
This includes putting in interlock paving, painting some parts of the buildings, fixing locks on some of the doors, repairing water and sewage problems, fixing some minor electrical problems as well as installing air-conditioners in some of the buildings.
The work resumed on 20 August and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
When asked about the decision to take over the project, Ndeitunga said it was saving the government money.
“We have taken over that project because the initial contractor delayed the process. Our construction team will finish the remaining work… It is cheaper for the government as we will be saving a lot,” Ndeitunga said.
Ndeitunga also said if the ministry's construction team had been better equipped and resources were available, they would have been the ones building all police offices countrywide.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Ndeitunga said the current situation where building contracts are merely terminated after several warnings was not working. Contractors who fail to complete projects should not be awarded any further public tenders. “Some of the contractors are not serious at all. Instead of spending money on buying materials and paying their workers, they first go and buy expensive vehicles. They are wasting the government's time and money. All projects have a timeframe as to when they should start and be completed,” Ndeitunga said.
Ndeitunga statement follows Namibian Sun's enquiry regarding the N$54 million dollar Omusati regional police headquarters being built in Outapi. On 5 June Namibian Sun reported that the construction had come to a standstill after the contractor, Amupolo Building Construction CC, owned by Erasmus Amupolo, had been removed from the site on the basis of poor performance, as some of the completed work had been done poorly. The project had been scheduled for completion on 23 May 2015. When Namibian Sun visited the site last week, employees of the Ministry of Safety and Security's procurement and logistics division were working to complete the project.
The workers will complete the outstanding work and mend the areas that were poorly done.
This includes putting in interlock paving, painting some parts of the buildings, fixing locks on some of the doors, repairing water and sewage problems, fixing some minor electrical problems as well as installing air-conditioners in some of the buildings.
The work resumed on 20 August and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
When asked about the decision to take over the project, Ndeitunga said it was saving the government money.
“We have taken over that project because the initial contractor delayed the process. Our construction team will finish the remaining work… It is cheaper for the government as we will be saving a lot,” Ndeitunga said.
Ndeitunga also said if the ministry's construction team had been better equipped and resources were available, they would have been the ones building all police offices countrywide.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article