Okahandja-Otjiwarongo road has ‘too many faults’

THE N$190 million Okahandja-Otjiwarongo highway was found to have several construction faults which the supervisor has admitted could pose a danger to road users.

Fritz Grosse-Weischede, of Windhoek Consulting Engineers (WCE), conceded under questioning last week at the hearings into alleged malpractice in roads administration that his supervision had been lax in parts. Dozens of faults were discovered on a completed 80-km portion of the 176-km road that is under construction.A long stretch had to be re-done last year because of the poor quality of the road and after more than 60 per cent of the “sub-base” of the construction was rejected.The Okahandja-Otjiwarongo highway has been at the centre of controversy in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into alleged irregularities at the Roads Authority and the Road Fund Administration.Some engineers argue that the Roads Authority chose the costliest option by awarding a N$180 million tender to Grinaker-LTA and Group Five company to uproot and rebuild the road.Management and WCE argue that the cost will be low in the longer run as the road had come to the end of its life.It also emerged last week that WCE Director Hendrik Petrus Kruger, the overall supervisor who argued for the complete reconstruction of the road, was not a qualified or registered engineer.Grosse-Weischede admitted to the commission that he was not doing audits of the whole process of quality control on the road as the contract required him to do.He also admitted that a lot of material had to be rejected because it was not up to standard.Grosse-Weischede further said he had failed to check on other aspects, such as ensuring that training on site was given to previously disadvantaged Namibian workers to enable them to upgrade their skills.This was one of the conditions set out out in the tender.One of the critics of the project, RA’s Roads Management Systems (RMS) Manager Sophia Tekie, told Nampa: “If the road is accepted with all these doubts, it will not show now but the road will surely collapse later on.”How can there be quality assurance if there is no quality control? People just want to finish the job quickly and in the process abandon their responsibility of ensuring that the road is up to required standards”.Grosse-Weischede is a freelance engineer and has been working on the Okahandja-Otjiwarongo construction site for the consultant engineers, WCE, since July 2002.His job on the site includes checking and monitoring the contractor’s progress and making sure that work done on the road is up to standard.- Nampa and Own ReporterDozens of faults were discovered on a completed 80-km portion of the 176-km road that is under construction. A long stretch had to be re-done last year because of the poor quality of the road and after more than 60 per cent of the “sub-base” of the construction was rejected. The Okahandja-Otjiwarongo highway has been at the centre of controversy in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into alleged irregularities at the Roads Authority and the Road Fund Administration. Some engineers argue that the Roads Authority chose the costliest option by awarding a N$180 million tender to Grinaker-LTA and Group Five company to uproot and rebuild the road. Management and WCE argue that the cost will be low in the longer run as the road had come to the end of its life. It also emerged last week that WCE Director Hendrik Petrus Kruger, the overall supervisor who argued for the complete reconstruction of the road, was not a qualified or registered engineer. Grosse-Weischede admitted to the commission that he was not doing audits of the whole process of quality control on the road as the contract required him to do. He also admitted that a lot of material had to be rejected because it was not up to standard. Grosse-Weischede further said he had failed to check on other aspects, such as ensuring that training on site was given to previously disadvantaged Namibian workers to enable them to upgrade their skills. This was one of the conditions set out out in the tender. One of the critics of the project, RA’s Roads Management Systems (RMS) Manager Sophia Tekie, told Nampa: “If the road is accepted with all these doubts, it will not show now but the road will surely collapse later on. “How can there be quality assurance if there is no quality control? People just want to finish the job quickly and in the process abandon their responsibility of ensuring that the road is up to required standards”. Grosse-Weischede is a freelance engineer and has been working on the Okahandja-Otjiwarongo construction site for the consultant engineers, WCE, since July 2002. His job on the site includes checking and monitoring the contractor’s progress and making sure that work done on the road is up to standard. – Nampa and Own Reporter