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Home / Land allocation delays Khomas District Hospital
Land allocation delays Khomas District Hospital
2016-12-16Staff Report 2 Windhoek It seems Namibia will have to wait a little longer than expected before the much-anticipated Khomas District Hospital is realised, which is expected to ease the burden on the Katutura State and Windhoek Central hospitals. The nation has been waiting for the materialisation of the hospital, as plans for a proposed district hospital for Khomas has been on the cards for about 10 years and still hang in the balance. Asked about the progress made regarding the planned district hospital, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Dr Andreas Mwoombola, told New Era that the ministry had a consultative meeting with the City of Windhoek in November 2016 on matters related to the provision of bulk services (water, sewer, electricity, roads, storm water drainage) to the identified portion of land - Farm 508 in Havana, where this hospice is to be built. Asked what is causing the delay since Windhoek Municipality has already written to the Ministry of Health and Social Services notifying them that they had identified the site for the hospital as Farm 508 in Havana, he said the City and the ministry is still in the process of finalising the allocation of land to the ministry. There are two main state hospitals in Windhoek – the Katutura Intermediate Hospital and the Windhoek Central Hospital. These two hospitals are struggling with an influx of patients and the institutions cannot accommodate any more, which sometimes forces patients to sleep on the floor. With the city’s populaton of about 380 000 people, Katutura Intermediate Hospital is the only referral centre. Mwoombola saidd the construction phase will commence once the documentation (design) and tendering process are completed. “These processes may take a minimum of two years after the land allocation is finalised,” he said. Asked if the allocated piece of land is enough to construct the envisaged hospital, he said the identified land measures 16.1 hectares and would be sufficient to accommodate the hospital and its supporting infrastructure. He further revealed that the ministry will commence with a feasibility study once the land is officially assigned to the ministry, adding that expressions of interest for the pilot study will be invited to determine the associated costs. 2016-12-16Staff Report 2
