Henties Bay waterfront project gets go-ahead

THE multi-million waterfront development planned at Henties Bay was given urgent status by the newly elected Town Council at its first meeting on Wednesday.

Council approved, in principle, the establishment of a waterfront company in order to get the N$87 million project off the ground after a delay of almost two years. Approval was only given in principle as two councillors objected to the composition of the waterfront board and other technical aspects of the development.The CEO, Peter Gurirab, said it was a matter of urgency to establish the company as he had received a letter from the Ministry of Finance indicating that they were ready to release the first N$5 million.Another N$10 million would be released in the next financial year, according to the letter.”Give us principle approval and we can sort out the nitty gritty later.The money is waiting for us, we only need to provide an account number,” said Gurirab.He said it was necessary to open a bank account to ensure the money was kept separate.Once the company was established, a board, manager, auditors and lawyers would also be appointed.Hendrik Veldsman of the Civic Association said he felt the board should include more Henties Bay representatives to give them a majority vote.”I fully agree that the project must go ahead, but having a majority vote on the board would make practical sense.”The other objection came from Albert Hoffmann (Civics) who said he still had concerns over the marketing of the project and exactly how much the municipality would benefit.”It is such a huge project and it is not clear if enough people will support it to sustain the development.We do not want to end up with empty buildings.”Hoffmann also asked what direct benefit the municipality, as a major player in the project through its donation of the land, would receive in return.”The land belongs to the community of Henties Bay.The development should generate funds for the municipality that can be used to start other developments for the community,” he said.The CEO replied that the project had been given the green light by the community following consultations.He said a proper marketing study could not be conducted unless a waterfront company was established.He added that they could not afford to lose out on the money supplied by central Government.”We cannot sit and argue about things Government is giving to us.”As for the land, he said it had been there for hundreds of years and had never been utilised.He said Council would benefit through jobs generated and services provided.According to a Council resolution of July 2003, Government will provide almost half – N$36,8 million – of the total cost of the project.The Municipality’s share will be N$5,3 million that will mainly consist of land donation and services, and the balance of N$57,4 million would be be raised by the Waterfront Company and from private funding.Approval was only given in principle as two councillors objected to the composition of the waterfront board and other technical aspects of the development.The CEO, Peter Gurirab, said it was a matter of urgency to establish the company as he had received a letter from the Ministry of Finance indicating that they were ready to release the first N$5 million.Another N$10 million would be released in the next financial year, according to the letter.”Give us principle approval and we can sort out the nitty gritty later.The money is waiting for us, we only need to provide an account number,” said Gurirab.He said it was necessary to open a bank account to ensure the money was kept separate.Once the company was established, a board, manager, auditors and lawyers would also be appointed.Hendrik Veldsman of the Civic Association said he felt the board should include more Henties Bay representatives to give them a majority vote.”I fully agree that the project must go ahead, but having a majority vote on the board would make practical sense.”The other objection came from Albert Hoffmann (Civics) who said he still had concerns over the marketing of the project and exactly how much the municipality would benefit.”It is such a huge project and it is not clear if enough people will support it to sustain the development.We do not want to end up with empty buildings.”Hoffmann also asked what direct benefit the municipality, as a major player in the project through its donation of the land, would receive in return.”The land belongs to the community of Henties Bay.The development should generate funds for the municipality that can be used to start other developments for the community,” he said.The CEO replied that the project had been given the green light by the community following consultations.He said a proper marketing study could not be conducted unless a waterfront company was established.He added that they could not afford to lose out on the money supplied by central Government.”We cannot sit and argue about things Government is giving to us.”As for the land, he said it had been there for hundreds of years and had never been utilised.He said Council would benefit through jobs generated and services provided.According to a Council resolution of July 2003, Government will provide almost half – N$36,8 million – of the total cost of the project.The Municipality’s share will be N$5,3 million that will mainly consist of land donation and services, and the balance of N$57,4 million would be be raised by the Waterfront Company and from private funding.