Parly Committee visits capital projects in Omusati

Lusia Lukas

OUTAPI, MAY 14 – The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics and Public Administration yesterday held a meeting at the Omusati Regional Council with representatives in the Omusati region to assess progress made on capital projects.

During the visit, governor of the Omusati region, Erginus Endjala along with other officials bemoaned the procurement process, noting that besides stalling government projects, red-tape was exacerbating the challenges of unemployment.

Endjala called for the full de-centralisation of functions, stating that this would enable regional councils to run their capital projects effectively, and subsequently result in the timely completion of work.

“The process is very frustrating… (delays) can be avoided if we are proactive. How do you expect a simple broken toilet to go through the procurement process?” Asked the governor.

Elifas Dingara, who forms part of the committee, concurred with this assertion and said that de-centralisation would further empower skilled people in the regions and avert the bottlenecks of bureaucracy.

“De-centralisation is critical if we are serious about development. The skills are there in the regions. We were confronted with a situation in Kunene where engineers had to be sent from Windhoek to go and supervise a project but (meanwhile) there is no money for subsistence and travel, therefore resulting in delays. Our job is oversight to make sure that these anomalies are rectified,” Dingara stressed.

Projects that are expected to be visited in the Omusati region include meteorological infrastructure development, road construction and upgrade and construction and renovation of public infrastructure.

The committee is chaired by Heather Sibungo, and other Members of Parliament comprising the committee include Annakletha Sikerete and Loide Shinavene. The committee is visiting various regions to inspect capital projects.