Presence of Fisheries Ministry in Kavango Overdue

Even after the Rundu Town Council made land available to the ministry to build the office complex more than five years ago, there is still no sign of any construction activities, except for the fencing and embankment that was put up, reports NewEra.

At the moment, the ministrys two directorates in the region - operations and aquaculture are accommodated in the cramped Namibia Development Corporation (NDC) building at Rundu.

Currently, the ministry pays a monthly rental fee exceeding N$20 000 for 10 offices, money that could have been used for other activities had the office complex been built.

The region boasts the perennial Kavango River and possesses great and untapped potential to grow and expand freshwater fisheries and many residents feel the fisheries ministry ought to establish a prominent presence in the region to create awareness and provide assistance to emerging fish farmers.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Uitala Hiveluah, told New Era yesterday that the ministry was still busy with the paperwork and documentation.

We have decided to construct the complex because it forms part of the decentralisation policy to take services closer to the people, she confirmed.

With the ministry having unveiled a fisheries office complex at Katima Mulilo earlier this year, the Kavango Region, which hosts a number of government fisheries projects, has to wait longer before construction activities for the office complex can get off the ground.

Cost estimates for the envisaged office complex project remain undisclosed at this point in time.

The plot allocated to the ministry is situated behind the Kavango Regional Council premises in Rundu.