Martin Endjala
On Thursday, the Lüderitz Town Council secured N$65 000 from the Dutch Project Quality Consulting Services company to continue the greenhouse projects at the Lüderitz Senior Secondary and Angra Pequena Senior Secondary School.
In an interview with the Windhoek Observer on Thursday, the mayor, Phillippus Balhao, said the project was started last year by the previous mayor.
The project kicked off with funds from the First National Bank (FNB).
“I am very excited to see these projects finally going ahead. Thanks to the support we received this morning from a company, we will now carry on the work and see to it that the project can be completed by next year,” said Balhao.
The project’s completion was delayed due to technical drawings, inaccurate estimates of the required material, and manufacturing and installation costs.
“It has been giving me sleepless nights, but I am really happy and thankful to have received the support. Now we go to work,” he said.
On Wednesday, Balhao took to his Facebook page to seek financial assistance to complete the projects.
Balhao explained that when these projects were estimated and submitted to the project partners (FNB), some crucial steps were missed in the planning and cost estimation, which caused the project to reach a point where they needed assistance to make it happen.
He said it is his wish to see the project through as it will benefit the soup kitchens at the two schools.
“We have to do it, and we owe FNB that much, too, for their support. We received the latest quotation for the materials and labour needed to install these greenhouses, and we desperately need your partnership to complete this project,” he added.
The project will focus mainly on agricultural farming practices, the traditional and the conventional.
It will also focus on training young people in agriculture.
The council has also partnered with a German company to assist in various system installations to keep the project afloat.
According to him, agriculture is crucial, and as the town develops, the trained young people will be better equipped to become entrepreneurs in this field, generating additional revenue and jobs.
