Ondonga princess loses N$19m tender

The Offshore Development Company (ODC) has revoked a construction tender awarded in 2015 to Katrina Enterprises, a company owned by Katrina Elifas, the daughter of Ondonga King Immanuel Kauluma Elifas.Elifas and her Chinese partners were awarded the N$19 million tender for the construction of an SME business park at the Omahenene border post in the Omusati Region. The tender has now been awarded to another company, Omusati Construction. The ODC alleged that Katrina Enterprises had violated the contractual agreement by halting construction work and abandoning the project for more than two years. Elifas went into a joint venture with Chinese construction company Zhen Jiang Construction and Engineering, but they abandoned the project in 2014. The project was supposed to be completed by May 2015 but the contractor abandoned the site, having completed only 65% of the work.ODC CEO Phillip Namundjebo told Namibian Sun that Katrina Enterprises' tender was terminated for breach of contract.He said the contract stipulated that ODC would terminate the tender if the contractor failed to complete the project. “As you may recall, the contractor stopped working on site in December 2014 and subsequently abandoned the project, violating the contract. “The contract stipulates that in the event of such a default, another contractor would be engaged to finish the work,” Namundjebo said. “On completion of the project, the final account will be worked out as per the contract. The difference between the original sum and the amount reflected in the final account will be deemed as debt payable to the ODC by Katrina Enterprises and partners as per the contract.” According to Elifas, before they abandoned the site in 2014, the project engineers, Burmeister and Partners, approached the ODC complaining that the steel Katrina Enterprises was using for the roof was of poor quality. A letter seen by Namibian Sun, dated November 2015 and addressed to Burmeister and Partners by Elifas, demanded an explanation on the quality of steel used. “We would like to request if you can stipulate to us in an official letter which test you would require on site to verify the strength of our steel. If there is any laboratory which deals in those tests, you can help us with contact details so that we can fast-track the process to prevent any further delays,” the letter reads. In 2015 Katrina Enterprises registered a dispute alleging unfair project management by the ODC. Katrina Enterprises claimed that the ODC had appointed the project architect, who in turn allegedly caused conflict at the construction site that led to the contractor abandoning the site. After a year of no activity at the site, the ODC appointed the Namibian Council for Architects and Quantity Surveyors (NCAQS) to adjudicate in the matter. In 2015 NCAQS appointed Mwanakatwe Studio Architecture Inc to act as adjudicator. On 23 February 2016, in a letter seen by Namibian Sun, Mwanakatwe Studio Architecture Inc ruled in favour of Katrina Enterprises, but neither the ODC nor Burmeister and Partners was happy with the decision. “How come they went ahead to appoint a new contractor while the adjudicator decision is still pending? They must pay our money for the 65% work we have done and they must also return our retention. Otherwise we will fight them in court. They are saying that our steel is of poor quality, but they are continuing using it,” Elifas said.

Ondonga princess loses N$19m tender

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-03

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Ondonga princess loses N$19m tender

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-03

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