The Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (MCA), which is set to be concluded in September 2014, has launched its flagship project in the country – a N$300-million spend in the Etosha National Park.

Since the signing of the compact in July 2008, a total of $304.5-million has been made available for tourism, education and agriculture projects.

Director for infrastructure Nicolas Hibbert says that just under half of this amount, $149-million, will be spent on infrastructure in Namibia.

“All our projects over the past few years have been notable, but the intervention in Etosha is by far the biggest of them all,” he says.

Work started after the ground-breaking ceremony at the end of April and is set to be completed by July 2014.

The project will focus on the upgrading of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism’s (MET’s) management centres in the park.

Currently, there are two main entrance gates – one on the eastern side, leading to Namutoni, and another in the south, leading to Okaukuejo. A smaller gate, the King Nehale Gate, is on the northern border but is not used much by tourists.

The MCA will now fund the creation of a new gate, the Galton Gate, in the west of the park, as well as the complete upgrading of the MET staff housing in Okaukuejo, near the southern Andersson Gate. A new village is also being constructed at this gate in an effort to move the MET staff out of Okaukuejo.
A detailed environmental-impact study showed that there was sufficient water resources for only 90 staff houses, while the initial specification was for 120.

“If this village is to be extended by the Ministry, a new water source will have to be found to carry the extra households,” Hibbert says.

In all, N$128-million has been invested, with each house designed with a solar geyser, a fridge and a stove.

Bulk services include new oxidation ponds, water installations and an additional borehole to spread the load – there are currently two. All the water installations will be handed to Namwater on completion of the project.

The work here is to be completed by Nexus Construction, based in Outjo. Nexus’ Deon Verster says the biggest challenges include minimising the impact on the sensitive environment during construction and keeping all staff safe from the resident Ombika pride of lions.

The Galton Gate has no infrastructure, save for a small farm-type gate and a fence. Full bulk services have to be supplied for 60 erven and a total of 48 MET staff homes. A full reception area and administration block will also be constructed. NMC Construction will be handling the work at Galton and its challenges are much the same as those faced by Nexus.

The spin-offs for the towns in north-western Namibia will be significant and the tourism industry in this region is set to increase exponentially.

Hibbert says a massive dumpsite near the Andersson Gate will be removed and new waste-handling facilities will be constructed. This will permit the separation of recyclables, and all other waste will be transported out of the park to the municipal site at Outjo. The goal is zero dumping of waste in the park.

But the work does not end there. The drive from the Galton Gate to Okaukuejo is around 4.5 hours. Water holes en route will be upgraded and the Ministry has constructed toilets along the way. Olifantsrus, an old elephant slaughter outpost, will soon serve as an elephant museum. Also to be built is an interpretation centre, a water hole and a double-storey hide, from where the animals can be viewed. An overnight camping site is also planned.

Bulk water supply at the King Nehale Gate will also be upgraded to improve water access and grazing in that area.

Other MCA-funded projects include the upgrading and renovation of 46 schools mostly across the northern half of the country, including the construction of classrooms, ablution facilities, administration buildings and computer and science laboratories, besides others.

“Most of the schools had some water, but some didn’t. One school in the Kavango region had nothing – no toilets, no power. The 600-odd children there had to collect water from the river. So . . . we did a lot of bulk services supply in the education sector.”

In the agriculture sector, two quarantine camps in the Caprivi were upgraded and five new State veterinarian offices are in the process of being constructed. The building of the vet offices is part of the drive to remove the red line that runs across Namibia just south of the Etosha National Park. Cattle farmers north of the red line have no access to commercial slaughter and the veterinary offices will go a long way towards improving animal health and research. Water points in the northern area have also been upgraded and new ones developed to increase access to grazing.

With many projects completed, some in full swing and others only being launched, it seems the MCA, when its tenure ends next year, will leave Namibia with a large footprint of infrastructural development.

The MCA is a bilateral US development assistance programme announced by former President George W Bush in 2002. Its objective is to help support economic growth and poverty reduction in the poorest countries in the world. It is administered by the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which is independent of all agencies that administer US aid. In Namibia, the MCA’s programme aims to increase the competence of the Namibian workforce through knowledge, skills and attitude improvement as well as to increase the productivity of both agricultural and nonagricultural enterprises in rural areas.