SWAKOPMUND – Construction of the N$26 million neonatal unit at Swakopmund Hospital has finally resumed after a long delay caused by Shatty Construction’s failure to complete the much-needed facility. 

The government, through the health ministry, awarded the million-dollar tender to Shatty Construction in 2020 after recognising the need for such a facility to serve not only the Erongo region, but also nearby towns.

However, the tender had to be cancelled, and was re-awarded to August 26 this year to complete the facility. 

Initial construction of the unit, which will have a 28-bed capacity divided into 12 standard care beds, six high-care beds, six intensive care unit (ICU) beds and four isolation unit beds, started in November 2020, with completion set for February 2022.

“The tender was awarded to a contractor, and the work was supposed to be completed – but unfortunately, there have been challenges with the contract, and despite all the remedial actions the ministry instituted, it was not coming to completion. As a result, a decision was made by the ministry to terminate the contract, and we now must issue a new contract,” health minister Kalumbi Shangula said when he cancelled the tender last year.

Executive director of the ministry Ben Nangombe on Monday during the handover of a mobile ICU tent at the Walvis Bay hospital said that as much as SMEs want to be trusted with such big tenders, they are letting the government down. 

“In some instances, we have been let down by the SMEs we are trying to promote. We have no problem promoting SMEs, but they must do their work, and do it effectively, so that projects like the one in Swakopmund are not delayed,” he said while sharing the progress of the facility.

He said they are happy with the progress of the facility, which is expected to be completed before the end of this year. 

“This is what we need because if we delay in this case, we are denying services to the small babies born with congenital illnesses. We don’t need to send them to far distances to access service, especially for the people of Erongo who can be referred to Kunene, and do not need to travel to Windhoek to access these services,” he said.