Ondangwa loses planned hospital

HEALTH minister Bernard Haufiku said the referral hospital that had been planned for Ondangwa will not be built there because the town is not geographically well located for such a project.

Speaking at the Windhoek Central Hospital last week, Haufiku said the hospital should be within a 60-kilometre radius of the Ondangwa Airport, but not necessarily in the town.

The state-of-the-art 1 000-bed academic hospital will have an oncology centre, a maternity block and a cardiac unit.

Haufiku spoke about the planned hospital when MultiChoice Namibia donated six nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) units for premature babies to the health ministry.

The minister’s stance has not been received well by the Ondangwa Town Council, whose management visited President Hage Geingob to discuss the issue about two weeks ago.

Ondangwa chief executive officer Ismael Namgongo said it was clear that Haufiku had already chosen his preferred town for the hospital.

Namgongo provided documents to show that the health ministry had spent more than N$4 million on plans and surveys for the hospital.

He said if the initial plans are abandoned, the health ministry would have wasted public funds.

“The town can always provide additional space if the previously chosen site is too small,” Namgongo said, while questioning why Haufiku bypassed a decision made by all 11 constituency councillors in Oshana in favour of building the hospital at Ondangwa.

Haufiku admitted that the ministry spent money on plans and surveys, and that regional councillors had chosen Ondangwa for the hospital.

However, he said the money was not wasted because the same ‘masterplan’ could be used at the new site.

“Whether it is the previous site or a new site, it remains the ministry’s job to decide,” Haufiku said, adding that surveys will be done again for the referral hospital.

According to the minister, the construction of the hospital cannot be rushed since there are other issues that need careful consideration.

“The ministry is currently engaging private companies who have the knowledge, expertise and resources to build the hospital,” he added.

Haufiku labelled the town council’s meeting with Geingob as an attempt to manipulate the process.

Addressing the meeting at State House, Haufiku said Ongwediva also offered a site.

“What if according to science, their area is [preferable]?” he asked. “I will not deviate from scientific evidence. We cannot just say it must be in Ondangwa. Why? What scientific reasons do we have?”