STAFF WRITER
The renovation of the Independence Stadium in Windhoek has been delayed, with unpaid invoices from last year now reaching N$66 million.
Director of Sport in the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service, Jo-Ann Manuel, said the project is facing delays due to several factors including the approval of designs by Confederation of African Football (CAF).
She said this last week Friday to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Youth, Civic Relations and Community Development.
Manuel said the designs and technical work have already been completed.
“The project was started in 2024 and awarded to Marley Tjitjo Architects. They came with drawings and everything was submitted,” she said.
However, the ministry is now facing financial pressure.
“We have a budget of N$60 million for this year, but we still have invoices of N$66 million from last year that we must pay,” she said.
Manuel said delays were also caused by the need for approval from the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
“Before we could start the project, we had to call CAF inspectors to review the designs and check if they meet standards,” she said.
She said the process took longer than expected.
“They only came in January this year. After that, we asked for a written report, which we only received at the end of March,” she said.
Because of this, some invoices could not be processed.
“We could not process payments because we were not sure if we were meeting the standards,” she said.
REGIONAL STADIUM PLANS
Manuel said the ministry is also planning to build regional stadiums in Katima Mulilo, Opuwo and Mariental.
“These projects were advertised a long time ago but went to a review panel. We only got the outcome in December last year,” she said.
She said the lead consultant will now move ahead with feasibility studies for the three facilities.
BASIC SPORTS FACILITIES ROLLOUT
The ministry is also rolling out basic sports facilities in constituencies. Manuel said 28 sites were identified last year and have all been visited.
“We identified 28 sites and visited all of them with regional councils. The Ministry of Works also joined us,” she said.
She said N$140 million was transferred last year to regional governors to help speed up the projects.
“These funds are meant to help us deliver basic sports facilities faster,” she said.
The Namibian reported last month that the government hand-picked the financially troubled Roads Contractor Company (RCC) to oversee a N$140-million project to build basic sport facilities across all 14 regions.
Each of the 14 regions will receive N$10 million for two facilities – 28 in total.
RCC interim chief executive Dasius Nelumbu denied that the company was hand-picked for the tender.
“The RCC, being a state company, was not chosen. The RCC expressed its interest to construct sport fields, to which some of the regional leadership responded positively,” he said.
BUDGET AND ONGOING PROJECTS
Manuel said the total budget for capital projects is N$243 million.
She added that there are other projects already under construction, including facilities in Eenhana and Nkurenkuru.
“These projects have already started and we are now adjusting to meet new requirements,” she said.
Minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts, and culture Sanet Steenkamp Sanet Steenkamp said many of these projects started earlier and have faced challenges.
“These are legacy projects. Some started in 2023/24. They have gone through reviews and have been challenged,” she said.
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