THE National Planning Commission, the chief planning entity of the state, has become the first government body to publicly admit that the N$2,2 billion quoted for the proposed new parliament is too expensive.
“In our opinion, the cost estimate is expensive, and discussions are ongoing to establish the best way that the project can be implemented at a reasonable cost,” NPC spokesman Fillemon Nangonya said in answers sent yesterday.
Those answers were passed through the minister in the Presidency in charge of the National Planning Commission Tom Alweendo and his permanent secretary in the NPC, Leevi Hungamo, which is a sign that they agreed with the answers.
Government officials have been reluctant to explain to the public how the cost shot up from N$700 million in 2013 to N$2,2 billion this year.
Although the NPC declined to give exact technical details of the project, the state planning entity has done what other institutions have done, which is to publicly raise red flags about it.
Nangonya said the planning commission was not involved in determining the cost of the project since this is done by the National Assembly, in consultation with the ministry of works.
“The department of works, which is responsible for the tendering and contracting of consultants, contracted a company that estimated the cost of the project at N$2,2 billion,” he stated.
Politicians have in the past few weeks tried to spin the story that the project is still in its infancy. A statement issued by information minister Tjekero Tweya said the price will only be determined once a feasibility study had been completed.
Now, the planning agency has admitted that they received drawings of the new parliament, which means things are being wrapped up in the background while publicly, state officials want to paint a picture that the project has been put on hold, which is incorrect.
“The NPC was provided with the design of the building and its details. However, to our knowledge, the design has not been approved,” Nangonya stressed.
There have been fears that the project will cost more if implementation is delayed.
“As we all know, the cost of construction materials always goes up. It will probably cost more, but that cannot be determined now,” the NPC said.
Experts on this building project have blamed the planning commission for being one of the culprits responsible for putting the N$2,2 billion estimate in budget books.
Nangonya, however, insisted that projects are initiated by line ministries.
“If there is any consultation to be done, it will be done by the project initiators. Therefore, the NPC did not conduct any consultation,” he added.
Government has been paying experts to help them with the construction of the new parliament.
In fact, reported in 2014 that consultants Claud Bosch Architects were paid by the National Assembly to carry out a feasibility study about the project.
understands that new consultants have been hired for the project.
Nangonya said the NPC does not know how much the consultants were paid.
“This question can better be answered by the NA (National Assembly) and the department of works because the NPC is not involved in the payment of consultants,” he stated.
The proposed N$2,2 billion parliament, dubbed the Welwitschia, will include 400 offices, a chamber to accommodate 300 lawmakers and a gym as part of a “wellness centre”. The current National Assembly has 104 lawmakers.
