Contractors slip up on drought aid

NON-DELIVERY of products for drought relief packages to residents in the Ohangwena Region is hampering Government’s efforts.

According to Gabriel Kangowa, Deputy Director of the Emergency Management Unit (EMU) in the Office of the Prime Minister, the delivery of cooking oil has been going according to plan, but problems are being experienced with the delivery of maize meal and tinned fish.
The tenders were awarded on October 15, and are expected to continue until March.
Etameko, an Ongwediva-based company, received the tender for the delivery of 105 tons of cooking oil, and has so far honoured its contractual obligations.
Onawa Mills in Ombalantu, on the other hand, has been inconsistent with its delivery of maize meal, having only delivered around 45 tons of its contracted 3 917 tons.
Ongolo Trading, a Windhoek-based company which won the tender to deliver 119 tons of tinned fish, completely reneged on its tender, and has had its contract cancelled.
Kangowa said the partial delivery or non-delivery by the contracted companies is hampering the distribution of drought relief.
‘Distribution is made difficult because when a load for a certain area is done, this should be a one-off exercise with the delivery of all the necessary goods. But with the current state of affairs this can’t always be done, because the necessary items haven’t all been delivered.’
He added that when such shortages occur, instead of providing the intended full allocation of three bags of maize meal, four tins of fish and two bottles of cooking oil, households are provided with smaller rations depending on the goods delivered.
Asked how much maize meal should have been delivered by now, Kangowa said the contracted company has to work directly with the region, as the supply required also depends on the capacity of the warehouses, and to avoid overstocking these warehouses.
In this instance however, the supplier is far behind on its delivery, preventing the effective distribution of food aid to the people who need it.
‘For the Ohangwena Region, we have contracted Namib Mills and Kavango Mills, both of whom also submitted tenders for this region, to provide 150 metric tons of maize meal each,’ to assist in Onawa Mills’ delivery problems, he said.

Namib Mills and Kavango Mills have also been called in to lend a helping hand in the Omusati Region, where Onawa Mills has been slow in meeting its expected deliveries.
In the Oshana Region, Namib Mills is meeting its contractual obligations.
The Deputy Director for Rural Services at the Ohangwena Regional Council, Natalia Ndaitwah, stated that about 80 per cent of the region’s population, or 18 409 households, depend on the food aid.
‘The main reason for the need of the drought relief is due to the situation last year with drought and floods, especially in the west side of the region, where Eenhana, Engela, Oshikango, Omulonga, Ohangwena, Endola, Ondobe and Ongenga have been heavily affected by the drought.
‘So far, things have been going well, but the problem is that people need food, and if we don’t have it delivered to the regional council, there’s nothing we can do,’ she said.
Kangowa said a letter had been written to Onawa Mills to speed up and improve on deliveries.
‘We are dealing with people’s lives here, but the Government’s objective to respond to the needs of its people are being defeated by this non-delivery,’ he said, adding that failure to improve would result in the termination of the tender.
In the case of Ongolo Trading, which was supposed to supply tinned fish, the contract was terminated.
A manager or spokesperson at Onawa Mills could not be reached for comment by the time of going to press.
Further, Kangowa stated that all the regional councils had been asked to submit reports indicating distribution efforts, in order to ensure effective response measures.
In his speech at a Swapo rally on Saturday, President Hifikepunye Pohamba made an appeal to all contractors who are not performing to pull up their socks.
‘We cannot allow a situation where our people are hungry while money is allocated to supply them with food. I therefore direct the Office of the Prime Minister to ensure that food is speedily delivered to the needy. Those contractors who cannot perform should be immediately identified and the situation rectified as soon as possible,’ Pohamba stated.