Nekundi directs RA to award major roads to local contractors
The remarks were made during the official reopening of the Aris River bridge, a link along the B1 route between Windhoek and Rehoboth, which was damaged in March 2025 following heavy rains and flooding that disrupted traffic along the corridor.
Nekundi said that 36 years after independence, Namibia should have developed a “matured local industry” capable of handling large-scale, capital-intensive road projects.
“We must now start entrusting the construction of these large projects to locally owned enterprises, not locally registered,” he said, drawing a clear distinction between companies genuinely owned by Namibians and foreign-owned firms operating under local registration.
The minister described the directive as a deliberate and non-negotiable policy position, adding that the government must move “strategically and fast” to ensure that Namibian enterprises are no longer on the periphery of the construction sector.
He further warned that continued recommendations of wholly foreign-owned companies — even those registered in Namibia — would have consequences, placing responsibility directly on the Roads Authority’s leadership to realign procurement practices with government policy.
Addressing past concerns about the capacity of local contractors, Nekundi said financial limitations should not be used to exclude them from large tenders. Companies are not required to have full project capital readily available, but must demonstrate credibility through financial backing from institutions such as the Development Bank of Namibia and commercial banks.
“It basically means you must have an assurance from the bank that you are an organisation worth to be trusted,” he said, noting that even established foreign companies rely on similar financial mechanisms.
Later at the event, Nekundi exclusively told Network Media Hub that he acknowledges previous challenges involving local contractors failing to complete projects, but attributed these issues to factors including underbidding and inefficiencies within government systems.
He went further to allege that some officials deliberately delay payments to local contractors, describing such actions as “sabotage” that undermines both businesses and national development efforts.
“That is sabotage not only to the ministry, but to the entire nation,” he said.
Last week in parliament, Landless People's Movement (LPM) MP Dawid Eigub raised concerns that local contractors are increasingly sidelined by well-capitalised foreign firms, particularly Chinese companies. Eigub cited tender conditions issued through the Roads Contractor Company (RCC), including requirements for bidders to have at least N$70 million in available cash, experience delivering projects worth over N$1.2 billion in the SADC region, and performance guarantees of up to N$100 million.
“The procurement law is a protocol of this House… ministers are not even allowed to talk about procurement,” Nekundi said in response, explaining that the legal framework restricts ministerial influence even when outcomes appear to disadvantage local contractors.
Nekundi said the government has a responsibility not only to set policy, but to ensure that legal and institutional frameworks support the empowerment of local enterprises.
“It is our obligation as a state to ensure that our people are empowered to participate in this economy,” he said.
