Govt office park critical
Sirkka Ausiku, the governor of Kavango West has expressed her dismay over the cancellation of the construction of the Nkurenkuru office park.
The governor of the Kavango West Region, Sirkka Ausiku is concerned over the halting of the government office park project without consultation with the regional leadership.
More than N$200 million was budgeted for the project over the medium-term expenditure framework for 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19.
The regional council awarded the tender for the construction of the office park to New Era Construction company and local company Octagon in a joint venture in September 2016.
Ausiku expressed her displeasure during the familiarisation visit of the vice-president Nickey Iyambo, accompanied by agriculture minister John Mutorwa and deputy environment minister Tommy Nambahu to the region on Thursday.
“The construction of the government office park is a priority for the region,” she said.
Ausiku expressed worry that the region's capital Nkurenkuru, as a young town, established only nine years ago, was unable to offer sufficient rental space for government agencies.
The office of the governor itself also struggles with enough space to operate from.
“As a result, our offices are scattered all over Nkurenkuru; renting houses that have been turned into offices which proves to be costly and operationally inconveniencing,” she added.
Responding to the concerns, Iyambo concurred with Ausiku, saying Kavango West needs attention from government in terms of resources to catch up to the level of all other regions in terms of infrastructure.
“We should not single out Kavango West, especially when it is the last addition to the family, however infrastructure development is also a challenge to government,” he said.
Iyambo said the issues of lack of office space does not only apply to this region, but is a problem in almost all regions.
He explained how Namibia was hit by world economic difficulties about two years ago, stating that the economic meltdown did not originate from the country.
Namibia depends on exporting raw materials such as diamonds and other minerals which are the biggest contributors to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). However, with the economic recession the demand for these luxury commodities dropped.
This affected tax revenue for state coffers on luxury goods.
It is these funds, Iyambo added, that are then allocated for priority projects in the regions.
Kavango West covers an area of 24 591 square kilometres and has a population of 86 529.
The region is predominantly rural, with a mere 0.01% inhabitants residing in urban areas.
NAMPA
More than N$200 million was budgeted for the project over the medium-term expenditure framework for 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19.
The regional council awarded the tender for the construction of the office park to New Era Construction company and local company Octagon in a joint venture in September 2016.
Ausiku expressed her displeasure during the familiarisation visit of the vice-president Nickey Iyambo, accompanied by agriculture minister John Mutorwa and deputy environment minister Tommy Nambahu to the region on Thursday.
“The construction of the government office park is a priority for the region,” she said.
Ausiku expressed worry that the region's capital Nkurenkuru, as a young town, established only nine years ago, was unable to offer sufficient rental space for government agencies.
The office of the governor itself also struggles with enough space to operate from.
“As a result, our offices are scattered all over Nkurenkuru; renting houses that have been turned into offices which proves to be costly and operationally inconveniencing,” she added.
Responding to the concerns, Iyambo concurred with Ausiku, saying Kavango West needs attention from government in terms of resources to catch up to the level of all other regions in terms of infrastructure.
“We should not single out Kavango West, especially when it is the last addition to the family, however infrastructure development is also a challenge to government,” he said.
Iyambo said the issues of lack of office space does not only apply to this region, but is a problem in almost all regions.
He explained how Namibia was hit by world economic difficulties about two years ago, stating that the economic meltdown did not originate from the country.
Namibia depends on exporting raw materials such as diamonds and other minerals which are the biggest contributors to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). However, with the economic recession the demand for these luxury commodities dropped.
This affected tax revenue for state coffers on luxury goods.
It is these funds, Iyambo added, that are then allocated for priority projects in the regions.
Kavango West covers an area of 24 591 square kilometres and has a population of 86 529.
The region is predominantly rural, with a mere 0.01% inhabitants residing in urban areas.
NAMPA
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