ONGWEDIVA - The construction of the new maternity ward at Onandjokwe Hospital which has stalled since 2017, should be completed if the contracted company could get its house in order.

Executive director of the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Ben Nangombe, confirmed to New Era on Tuesday that the construction of the ward is delayed because of the challenges faced by the contractor.

However, the contractor was not in the mood to answer any questions from this reporter.

“I will not comment. Journalists like accusing people. It’s not your obligation to question me regarding the delay in the construction,” the owner of Amupolo Construction Rachel Amupolo said.

Nangombe said the contractor was paid for the work completed.

“We are busy engaging the contractor so that they continue with the construction in order to finish as soon as possible,” Nangombe said.

He added that the ministry has already budgeted for the maternity ward, therefore, it is important that it is completed immediately.

“We are aware of the challenges faced by expectant mothers at the Onandjokwe Hospital. The ministry will ensure that this maternity ward is completed so that expectant mothers don’t have to suffer.” 

He added that the construction of a new, state-of-the-art maternity ward costs more than N$50 million.

“The new maternity ward will boast 160 beds once completed.”

Onandjokwe Hospital delivers about 700 babies monthly, while on average, 7 668 babies are delivered at Onandjokwe annually.

This has prompted the 70-bed extension at the maternity ward.

 Nangombe said the new maternity ward at Onandjokwe will be the biggest maternal facility in the country due to the high number of monthly deliveries in the town.

“This new maternity ward will be one of the biggest maternal facilities in the whole country, and it’s a modern facility. There have been reports in the past of inadequate space - particularly at the maternity ward at Onandjokwe,” he emphasised.

Local staff hope the completion of the ward will bring relief to those who set up camp near the hospital in anticipation of delivering.

Currently, expecting mothers at the Onandjokwe State Hospital are living under what some of them describe as horrific or scary situations as they sleep under some trees next to the morgue.

Recently, when New Era visited the ward, they said the waiting ward for pregnant women is overcrowded, and there is thus no space to accommodate them.

They said they have no choice since they are almost due and most of them live deep in the rural areas, far from the hospital. 

This situation forces them to lodge there, under the trees, next to the waiting ward.

The waiting ward helps many women who are staying far from the hospital because they don’t have to travel long distances during uterine contractions. 

The health director of Oshikoto region, Josua Nghipangelwa, said the waiting ward has been renovated this year after his directorate allocated funds.

He said the ward accommodates expecting mothers from remote areas during their final trimester, so that they have easy and faster access to the hospital during their time of labour. 

“The current ward could not accommodate many women because it is too small and on a daily basis expectant women are coming in huge numbers,” he added. fhamalwa@nepc.com.na