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The Ministry of Transport rejected the Roads Authority's plan to extend three road contracts worth N $ 1.6 billion to three companies without public advertising.
Currently, three highways are under construction: Swakopmund in Walvis Bay, Windhoek in Hosea Kutako and Windhoek in Okahandja
The Swakopmund-Walvis Bay Company is built by the Chinese company Unik Construction Engineering Namibia and its Namibian partner, Thohi Construction, for N $ 958 million.
A $ 1 billion contract for the construction of a section of the Windhoek-Okahandja highway was awarded to the Italian construction company CMC and its Namibian partner Otesa Civil Engineering, while another $ 1 billion contract for Windhoek-Hosea Road Kutako Seventh Group and Onamagongwa Trading Enterprise
Two of the freeways – Windhoek to Hosea Kutako and Windhoek to Okahandja – are expected next year , the Swakopmund Highway at Walvis Bay is expected to be completed by June 2010.
Willem Goeiemann, Permanent Secretary of Works and Transport, asked RA last year to present a strategy RA Chief Executive Officer Conrad Lutombi wrote to Goeiemann on February 2, 2018, recommending that the three companies currently building the highways be extended to work on the next kilometer es, which would exclude advertising calls for tenders. According to the Roads Authority (RA), the road from Windhoek International Airport to Hosea Kutako would be extended three kilometers at a cost of N $ 150 million, while that of Swakopmund to Walvis Bay would increase by eight kilometers to $ 435 Namibian dollars. million. The Windhoek-Okahandja road would be extended by 21 kilometers for a whopping $ 1 billion.
The AR said the three road extensions would cost N $ 1.6 billion combined, and that continuity would allow the government to save $ 147 million N
The savings, according to the l. parapublic organization, understand the fact that companies would not need to set up a new construction camp.
THE LOW ROAD
Deputy Minister of Works Sankwasa James Sankwasa, however, rejected this proposal to expand the roads, and accused the RA of accepting inflated bids.
Sankwasa rejected the proposal in two letters that he wrote to the Minister of Works John Mutorwa and Goeiemann on February 27 and May 2, 2018.
"I am not able to accept the recommendations badigning extensions to existing bidders, "he said, suggesting that the AR should instead go to a public tender call, overseen by the Department of Works." 19659003] "Si a bidder does not quote within the limits or rates of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, the government According to him, Namibian road projects, compared to other countries of southern Africa, are costly.
The deputy minister said that he had studied the road to Namibia. "I discovered that almost all SADC countries were building asphalt roads (tar) at a cost of about 5 million to 8 million Namibian dollars per kilometer, depending on the country. "The deputy minister added that about 10 years ago, Namibia was building roads at an average cost of less than N $ 5 million per kilometer."
"This topography of the area where the road is built.The three roads are priority projects as part of the Harambee Prosperity Plan, the development plan of President Hage Geingob, which has been modified according to the plan. evolution of Namibia, which promised better roads until 2020.
"Should the government undertake projects too expensive because they are Harambee projects?" asked the deputy minister [19659003] "The sudden escalating costs of road construction and all other construction work in Namibia require urgent investigation and stopping of these bidding practices," he said. 19659003] For example, Sankwasa said that the Swakopmund-Walvis Bay road was overvalued by about 60 million
The deputy minister stated that he objected to the allocation of the call for tenders for the Swakopmund road to Walvis Bay in April 2016, when he actually recommended its cancellation and republication
"I clearly stated that the call for tenders was riddled with corruption and should be canceled and be announced again. But this recommendation was ruled out and the call for tenders was finally awarded to the third most expensive bidder, Unik, instead of the cheapest and best bidder, as rated by the ### 39, consulting engineer, "he added.
Sankwasa said that the Namibian had planned to intervene in the current tenders because they were too expensive , and he wanted the permanent secretary to correct the case.
"As a permanent secretary, I wait He reiterated
that if the material is too expensive, then why not get the material from another source that is cheaper. 19659003] "It boils down to corruption," he accused.
NOTHING WRONG
RA General Manager, Lutombi, declared to Namibians that they were aware of Sankwasa's concerns, but denied having engaged the government in contracts overvalued roads.
"All the tenders awarded, of all the projects in progress, were submitted to an advertised competitive bidding call, therefore all bids were awarded regarding the price and the price. technical expertise in accordance with the procurement process of the road authority. "
Lutombi also said that he responded to Sankwasa's letter with a detailed report.
The Ministry of Public Works then submitted its proposal to the Central Public Procurement Commission (CPB) for review and for the Governing Council to indicate whether this was done legally.
"We are still waiting for a response from the CPB," he said.
Lutombi added that the risks badociated with undervalued contracts include poor quality and that the project is not completed in time.
The RA announced in newspapers last week that a consultant was to conduct a study on the prices of road construction
The three highways have a controversial past.
The Namibian reported in 2016 that RA and the Ministry of Works have committed the government to contracts worth more than 2 billion Namibian dollars without following the procedures, and baderted that they were considered a priority by "the highest functions".
The $ 2 billion will have to be paid years ago, but the finance ministry, already under pressure from mbadive liquidity shortages, has been forced to find N $ 800 million to pay the road construction companies.
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