The ||Kharas Regional Council has been defying a court order of N$318,000 that was issued by the High Court in September 2020.

The court order relates to a tender signed between the Regional Council and Integrity Trading Enterprises for the construction of ablution facilities in Koës for N$2.3 million.

In terms of the contract, the council was supposed to make progress payments to Integrity Trading for the duration of the contract.

According to the court judgement, the tenderer complied with all conditions of the contract and completed the project.

However, the ||Karas Regional Council only paid the contractor N$1.9 million of the total contract amount, leaving a balance of N$318,000.

The court papers say that despite the demand for the outstanding balance, the council failed and refused to settle the outstanding amount.

The High Court said that the council also failed to repay the contractor's original N$200,000 Bank Performance Guarantee.

The court has ordered the regional council to pay the outstanding amount, including the performance guarantee and the cost of the suit, at an interest rate of 20% from the date of the judgement, which was 7 June 2022.

The outstanding amount due to Integrity Trading stood at close to N$576,000 by 8th April 2025. These include the capital balance of N$318,000, the interest of N$170,000, legal costs, and the collection commission.

The council's acting Chief Regional Officer, Ralph Sachika, acknowledged a court order for the execution of council property had been issued, but noted the council had lodged an appeal against it. 

He explained the appeal is based on a Crown Act enacted years back, which prohibits the execution of government property. 

"Now that the Act is being argued; I was informed by our legal representative at the Attorney General's Office that it is before the Supreme Court. So, that can only be done when that is known to be the case. "

The acting CRO explained that the appeal process challenging the litigation judgement, which resulted in the execution of the property, is still ongoing. 

He further clarified that the council is not refusing to pay the contractor but wishes to have the appeal process finalised, a stance the contractor viewed as a delay tactic. 

According to Sachika, the council terminated the contract of the contractor in December 2020 for abandoning construction works.