Minister and Governor at odds over Omaheke projects falling through the cracks
During a recent visit to Gobabis, the Minister of Economic Planning and Director General of the National Planning Commission, Hon Obeth Kandjoze, deplored the slow implementation rate of capital projects in the Omaheke region.
According to a statement by the Omaheke Regional Council, the minister took the region’s leadership to task, saying that some projects had only been implemented 30% by August last year.
The minister’s Gobabis visit was part of a series of systematic familiarisation visits to various regions.
Omaheke Governor, Hon Festus Ueitele echoed the minister’s observation, laying the cause for the delays squarely at the door of the national government. “The decentralization process is taking too long. The region struggles to construct infrastructure due to insufficient resources, yet the leadership is expected to account for lack of development. We want to deliver, but there is so much bureaucracy,” the governor was quoted as saying.
Citing a specific case of interference, Hon Ueitele named the non-implementation of Gobabis’ mass housing project, saying that this project was stopped by the government when the loan terms were renegotiated with the Chinese Government.
The only project that received the minister’s approval, was the regional government’s office block where visible progress has been made. The minister also expressed his appreciation for several smaller community projects which have been completed to date like the new sewer system at Goeie Hoop Primary School in Epukiro and flushing toilets in Ongulumbashe and Kanaan.
