RUNDU - The Ministry of Works and Transport, has handed over the site to its regional office for Meteorological Services in Rundu that has been standing incomplete to be renovated and completed in conformity with the minister’s wish.
Currently, meteorological services are done at a government resident of a staff in Tutungeni.

Minister of Works and Transport John Mutorwa was unhappy of the incomplete work when he visited the site in March and he instructed his officials to fix the mess.

The site was handed over to the newly appointed contractor, Bongi and Prince Trading CC by Gosbert Sikoka, Control Works Inspector in the ministry of works in Rundu. 

“This contractor will renovate the building which includes painting, fixing the defective works in addition to putting in shelves in the store rooms, they will do civil work and through the head office, we are currently working on getting in an electrical contractor who will come do the incomplete electrical work here,” Sikoka stated.

When Mutorwa visited the incomplete office, he was informed by officials that the office has not yet been handed over due to some incomplete and defective work by the contractor and the building also had some electrical work still incomplete as well as air conditioners that have not yet been installed.

New Era at that time of the minister’s visit was informed the main contractor failed to pay the electrical subcontractor as well as the subcontractor who was supposed to install air conditioners, they stopped work due to that payment dispute with the main contractor.

Construction of this building started in 2013, after the site handover was done on the 30th of August 2013, and it was supposed to be completed in 29 weeks by March 21, 2014 but the contractor abandoned the building at 90 percent progress, the original contract was estimated to be N$5.7 million which escalated to over N$7 million.

Mutorwa during his last visit at the site said there were many abandoned capital projects around the entire country that have been budgeted for and he was not happy of the trend.