Updrading of rural roads in Namibia, labour-based upgrading of district roads in Oshana and Oshikoto regions in Namibia with partnership agreements between plant contractors, SMME contractors and the use of local labour

Abstract

Paper presented at the 28th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 6 - 9 July 2009 "Sustainable Transport", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

The Roads Authority of Namibia (RA) has a Regional Road Master Plan for the Oshana, Oshikoto, Omusati and Ohangwena Regions in Namibia, in terms of which the upgrading of rural roads is prioritised in order to alleviate poverty by improving the accessibility and mobility of rural communities. The DR 3644 from Ompundja to Eheke and the DR 3645 from Onyaanya to Onanke were amongst several roads that were ranked as high priority for upgrading.For the implementation of the Master Plan, the RA initiated a unique and innovative contractual arrangement to empower and expose local small-, medium- and micro-scale enterprise (SMME) contractors to the contracting environment, while making maximum use of the local workforce in terms of their involvement in improving rural roads. Plant contractors were appointed with the proviso that they appoint several SMMEs, who would then be responsible for specific sections of the works. The SMMEs were in turn responsible for recruiting task workers from local communities. SMMEs had to attend special training courses developed and presented by the RA in order to qualify for participation in the tender. During construction, the RA provided ongoing training in order to assist SMMEs with record-keeping and financial control. This achievement is in line with the expectation of the German Government, who funded the project through the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufoau (KfW).