WINDHOEK – The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah revealed at a Swapo rally on Sunday that a district hospital will be built in Samora Machel Constituency.
She, however, did not mention when the hospital would be built but told prospective voters the planned hospital will be built at the soccer field in Havana where the Swapo mini rally took place.
“This ground is reserved for two major projects, a district hospital and a fresh hub. The design is already done,” Nandi-Ndaitwah told the rally.
Yesterday New Era contacted the councillor of Tobias Hainyeko Constituency, Zulu Shitongeni, who confirmed the hospital would be built.
He could not confirm when the actual construction would start but said: “It’s in the pipeline, no tender is yet awarded. We are still busy with the municipality and the ministry (of Health and Social Services). The municipality confirmed that the erven are not occupied.”
The hospital will serve people within the Moses Garöeb, Tobias Hainyeko and Samora Machel constituencies.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said that at independence the government integrated the health system.
“We found two big hospitals – one for whites and the other for blacks,” she said.
She noted the fact that people no longer die of AIDS compared to the time before government introduced the life-saving antiretroviral drugs.
“While some countries were reluctant, we gave our people medicine to make sure mother to child transmission of HIV is prevented. Unless you don’t want to be truthful to yourself HIV deaths have reduced. TB has been dealt with and malaria has been reduced by 95 percent,” she said.
By Alvine Kapitako