“We Will End Up Like Iran and America” – Sivaku Slams Second Environmental Assessment for Nkurenkuru District Hospital
By TUW
Leaders in Kavango West have expressed strong dissatisfaction over the decision to conduct another environmental assessment for the planned Nkurenkuru District Hospital, saying the process had already been completed years ago before the original groundbreaking ceremony.
During a meeting on Thursday with KPM Environmental Consulting, regional leaders questioned why a new assessment was necessary when the project site had already been approved more than a decade ago.
Chairperson Fillipus Tenga said the leadership was not expecting another assessment, but rather the start of construction.
“Before we can give you an opportunity to speak, we want to register our disappointment. We don’t know who sent you here to do another environmental assessment because this place was already assessed and the groundbreaking was done long time ago,” he said.
He added that the region has been waiting for the hospital for many years and expected the project to move forward instead of going back to earlier stages.
Regional leader Joseph Sikongo Sivaku also expressed frustration, saying all procedures were completed before the groundbreaking ceremony held in 2014.
“All these environmental assessments and designs were done before the former president came to do the groundbreaking. Groundbreaking means construction must start,” Sivaku said.
He said regional leaders understand how government systems work and were surprised to be told that another assessment must be done.
“We are educated, we know how things work. We are not new in this system and now you come again with environmental assessment,” he said.
Sivaku added that the community expected to hear that construction would resume, not that the process would restart.
“We expected to be told that construction will continue, or that the assessment is only to confirm and start immediately. That would be better for our people,” he said.
He warned that repeated delays on development projects in the region create frustration among residents.
“There is a saying in our language, you sent the wrong people to the wrong place. People are tired of waiting while projects are delayed for many years,” Sivaku said.
The planned hospital site in Nkurenkuru was previously fenced and prepared, but construction never started despite the earlier launch of the project.
Responding to the concerns, members of the environmental assessment team said they were sent to reassess the site following instructions from the Ministry of Health and Social Services.
One of the officials explained that the reassessment is part of government plans aligned with Vision 2030, which includes building new hospitals across the country.
“We were sent to assess the site again according to the instructions from the ministry. The plan is still there, and Nkurenkuru is one of the hospitals to be built, but the assessment must be updated before construction can continue,” the official said.
They also confirmed that although the groundbreaking was done in 2014, the project must go through the required procedures again before construction can begin.
