ORC to lease Kalkfeld business market for free

KALKFELD, 21 SEP  – A public market at the Kalkfeld business park under the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) will be leased to the Otjozondjupa Regional Council (ORC) from October this year for free.
Deputy Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development, Lucia Iipumbu on Thursday made the announcement at the graduation of 80 students who received certificates in basic vocational training in needlework, hospitality, tourism, computer skills and office administration.
The one-month training was offered by the Women’s Action for Development (WAD) in conjunction with the Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung.
“I am really delighted to announce that our ministry has already agreed to give for free the public market here to your regional council for six years,” said Iipumbu.
Construction activities on the first-ever Kalkfeld business park started in August 2012 and was completed in 2014 under the supervision of the NDC.
The complex was built at a cost of over N.dollars 14 million from government’s National Planning Commission that channelled the money through the then Ministry of Trade and Industry to the NDC that executed the establishment of the business space.
Kalkfeld is situated about 70 kilometres west of Otjiwarongo.
NDC Senior Property Officer, Heikkie Ndipwashimwe in an interview with Nampa on Thursday at Kalkfeld said the handing over of the market to the ORC will be done towards the end of September this year.
“The complex has a petrol station for rent, the community market we are giving for free to the regional council, food court for rent, public toilets and a shop also for rent,” said Ndipwashimwe.
The public market is not being utilised as of yet, but the rest of the buildings are already occupied by tenants.
Otjozondjupa Regional Council Chairperson, Julius Neumbo promised to assign the Kalkfeld settlement office to manage and allocate the business stalls to committed community members.
Kalkfeld was proclaimed a village council in 1991, but in 1996 was downgraded to settlement level, reportedly because of a lack of development activities and infrastructure growth.

NAMPA