N$200 000 budget unleashes clash over clinic upkeep

Kavango West's 29 health facilities share an annual maintenance budget of just N$200 000, translating to an illustrative average of approximately N$6 897 per facility for minor repairs and general upkeep.The allocation raised questions about the regional health directorate's ability to maintain infrastructure and ensure acceptable standards across its facilities.Regional health director Fransiska Hamutenya disclosed the allocation during an oversight visit by health minister Dr Esperance Luvindao to Katjinakatji Clinic on Tuesday."Within N$200 000, really, you cannot maintain 29 facilities," Hamutenya said bluntly, adding that the directorate had repeatedly approached the ministry's finance officials to request an increase in funds.The exchange followed Luvindao's reference to a leaking clinic toilet that had remained unrepaired for an extended period.Hamutenya also pointed to communication gaps in reporting maintenance problems. Complaints sometimes reached district offices but were not escalated to the director's office, limiting her ability to intervene."When it does not reach the director's office, it is very difficult for me also to pick it up," she said.She said emergencies brought to her attention were dealt with promptly, including leaking pipes and other maintenance problems.Hamutenya also undertook to dispatch a team to Katjinakatji Clinic to repair the leaking toilet, she told the minister.Accept faults However, Luvindao was unimpressed, telling regional officials to stop making excuses, acknowledge their shortcomings and take responsibility."Let's accept where we are wrong, and we change, and we move forward," she said.She rejected the suggestion that poor hygiene at the clinic was due to inadequate funding, arguing that cleanliness was primarily a matter of supervision and management rather than additional resources."Cleanliness does not require more money. It requires a supervisor that is serious," Luvindao said.She also challenged Hamutenya's argument that maintenance complaints sometimes failed to reach her office, saying regional directors were responsible for conducting regular inspections and identifying problems rather than relying solely on reports from subordinates.Luvindao drove home her point by asking whether Hamutenya would offer President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah the same explanation if she raised problems at a health facility."Is that the way leadership works?" the minister asked. "As a leader, it is your responsibility to go around and check your facilities," she said, insisting that directors must take ownership of the condition of facilities under their supervision.Clean up before travelMoreover, Luvindao announced a blanket ban on travel by regional health officials until improvements were evident at basic health facilities."We have banned all travel, all travel has been banned. You stay in your region, you do your work. Until we see an improvement in basic facilities, there's no travel," she said.The minister maintained that limited budgets should not prevent officials from finding practical solutions to urgent infrastructure challenges.She cited prefabricated structures and additional rooms as possible temporary interventions where infrastructure needs could not wait for funding."That's the kind of leadership that we are looking for, not by chance the minister comes into the region to see a clinic and then discovers this," she said.Luvindao was in the Kavango West on an oversight tour of health facilities and to officially open Mabushe Clinic in the Mashare constituency.

N$200 000 budget unleashes clash over clinic upkeep

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Namibian Sun 2026-11-12

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N$200 000 budget unleashes clash over clinic upkeep

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Namibian Sun 2026-11-12

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