Hage fumes over health mess

President Hage Geingob has jumped into the fray by seemingly asking the minister of health and his permanent secretary to put their differences aside and end the infighting reportedly threatening to bring service delivery in the sector to a halt.Geingob yesterday made it clear that infighting between ministers and their permanent secretaries would not be tolerated and if they cannot get along they must be relieved of their duties. The stern warning was made at the last cabinet meeting of the year at State House. The meeting was followed by a closed-door session where health minister Bernard Haufiku, accompanied by several doctors and medical specialists, briefed the cabinet on the dire shortage of hospital supplies.It has been widely reported that the ministry is at emergency levels of medical supplies, with shortages experienced mainly at the Katutura, Windhoek Central and Oshakati hospitals – the three largest in the country. During the cabinet briefing, Geingob said although the health sector had been doing well in the past, it seemed things were going downhill. He said the problems facing the ministry were reportedly caused by infighting between Haufiku and his permanent secretary, Andreas Mwoombola. “Some are saying there are fights between the PS and the minister,” Geingob said. Geingob told Haufiku if he was having fights with his PS, then he was failing as the head of the ministry. Geingob said he was surprised to hear about the standoff between the two. There can be no fights between the “boss” and those that work under them, said Geingob. “How can you work this way? This means you cannot even have meetings together, or greet each other because of the hating that is between the two of you.” Geingob also told ministers not to let permanent secretaries to control them.“Ministers, be strong. You are allowing permanent secretaries to control you,” he said. Geingob further instructed prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila to ensure that those who can't work together are relieved of their duties. At the beginning of last month, Kuugongelwa-Amadhila confirmed the standoff between the two officials. Kuugongelwa-Amadhila confirmed to Namibian Sun that Haufiku had approached her office to state his displeasure at working with Mwoombola. “We are aware that the minister has raised concern about the way things are managed at the ministry. A process has been commissioned to look into those things and the process is still running, because we have to do things according to the law,” she said. ConcernsJust last week several doctors wrote a letter to Haufiku and the health ministry management, expressing grave concerns about a shortage of medical supplies and equipment at state hospitals. Yesterday top specialists, including cardiologists and surgeons, gathered at State House to report to cabinet on these shortages.Among them was Dr Henning du Toit, Namibia's top heart surgeon. Dr Manojkumar Kamble, a specialist surgeon, who was also present during the presentation to cabinet, told Namibian Sun that their concerns were well received. “There are solutions to most of the problems raised,” he stated. According to Kamble, the cardiac team especially made a very strong presentation regarding their concerns.“The concerns were well received and we have received good support from government.” In the letter last week, the doctors expressed dissatisfaction with “unprecedented” shortages of basic supplies at the Katutura Intermediate and Windhoek Central hospitals that have reportedly been experienced for the last two months in operating theatres, wards and casualty departments. The doctors suggested that the ministry stop all non-urgent surgery and undertake an emergency stock-taking and procure all consumables before surgical work proceeds. Kamble said there was a misconception that the theatres would completely shut down. “The theatres never close completely. There are always two theatres running in parallel with each other. It is just that during December we are operating on three times the volumes we are usually working on, with referrals coming in from the regions, while there are also some surgeons that want to spend time at home.” Haufiku could not be reached for comment yesterday. ELLANIE SMIT

Hage fumes over health mess

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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Hage fumes over health mess

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-19

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