Otjiwarongo: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender Equality and Social Services commenced visits to several capital projects in the Otjozondjupa Region initiated during the 2021/2022 and 2023/2024 financial years.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the 15-member committee, chaired by Nono Katjingisiua, includes Tuulikki Abraham, Vetaruhe Kandozoru, Lilian Lutuhezi, Fenny Tutjavi, and Armas Amukoto, among others. The committee will conduct oversight, evaluation, and observation of how capital projects for the Ministry of Health and Social Services in Otjozondjupa were implemented. Katjingisiua emphasized the importance of understanding why projects were not executed if that is the case.

The delegation began its visit at the Otjiwarongo State Hospital and is expected to visit other locations, including the Kalkfeld Clinic, Orwetoveni Clinic, Gam, Grootfontein, Tsumkwe, Otjituuo, Okakarara, Okondjatu, Okahandja, and Okandjira in the Omatako Constituency.

Governor //Khamuseb briefed the committee about the challenges faced in implementing capital projects at state hospitals in the region. He highlighted that many projects are dormant, incomplete, or non-functional despite being budgeted for over several financial years. The governor cited the Okondjatu Health Centre, which has remained incomplete for over 12 years, and the Tsumkwe Clinic, where a sewage pond is overflowing into residential areas, posing a health hazard. He also expressed concerns about an incomplete sewage pump station at the Coblenz Clinic.