EDITORIAL: Kavango people can’t just be 'voting cows'
The delay in constructing the Nkurenkuru District Hospital in the Kavango West Region cannot be attributed to anything other than taking people in that region for granted.
Former president Hifikepunye Pohamba officiated the groundbreaking event of the project in late 2014, just weeks before the 2014 national elections.
If this was an election gimmick, it has paid off handsomely. Swapo and its candidate, Hage Geingob, won resoundingly. Then they disappeared into the sunset – never to be heard from again as far as that project is concerned.
Worse, we are told N$6 million has already been splashed on the fence meant to surround the hospital - which has fallen victim to vandals, a typical Namibian story.
If you’re looking for a classic example of 'taking people for a p**s', as the youngins say these days, this project is one. We can gamble with many things, but not people’s lives. Healthcare is that thin line between life and death, but we have left the people of Kavango West – one of the poorest regions in the country – to the mercy of fate.
Citing this project, among others, The Namibian in 2016 reported that “Kavango West governor Sirkka Ausiku is disappointed that promises made by the ministry of health have not been fulfilled, with some projects delayed for over three years now”.
If the governor thought three years was a lifetime, this has now been tripled - with no end to this empty promise in sight. Amid all this, the term ‘voting cows’ now returns to mind.
Former president Hifikepunye Pohamba officiated the groundbreaking event of the project in late 2014, just weeks before the 2014 national elections.
If this was an election gimmick, it has paid off handsomely. Swapo and its candidate, Hage Geingob, won resoundingly. Then they disappeared into the sunset – never to be heard from again as far as that project is concerned.
Worse, we are told N$6 million has already been splashed on the fence meant to surround the hospital - which has fallen victim to vandals, a typical Namibian story.
If you’re looking for a classic example of 'taking people for a p**s', as the youngins say these days, this project is one. We can gamble with many things, but not people’s lives. Healthcare is that thin line between life and death, but we have left the people of Kavango West – one of the poorest regions in the country – to the mercy of fate.
Citing this project, among others, The Namibian in 2016 reported that “Kavango West governor Sirkka Ausiku is disappointed that promises made by the ministry of health have not been fulfilled, with some projects delayed for over three years now”.
If the governor thought three years was a lifetime, this has now been tripled - with no end to this empty promise in sight. Amid all this, the term ‘voting cows’ now returns to mind.
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article