….as deaths toll rises
Staff Writer
President Hage Geingob has ruled out any planned trip for himself and members of his executive, including Health minister, Kalumbi Shangula to the Erongo region, but will instead dispatch four deputy ministers to access the impact of COVID-19 on the community.
The four, Deputy minister of Health, Esther Muinjangue, Deputy minister of Labour, Hafeni Ndemula, Deputy minister of Urban and Rural Development, Derek Klazen and Deputy minister of Safety and Security, Daniel Kashikola, will be the first high level government delegation to visit the region which has become the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
On completion of their visit, the team is expected to brief Geingob and the executive on their observations and findings, which are expected to direct government’s efforts on how to combat the spread of the virus going forward.
“A delegation of the Deputy Ministers will travel to the Erongo Region tomorrow (Wednesday) to assess the response and will provide feedback to the Executive,” Presidential Spokesperson, Alfredo Hengari told the Windhoek Observer.
He said the President was in touch with developments on the ground in the Erongo region through briefings provided to him, while all resources at government’s disposal have been directed to COVID-19 efforts.
“The President is apprised on a regular basis about developments regarding COVID-19 by the Minister of Health and the Governor of the Erongo Region. The President emphasized consistently that the health of Namibians remains a high priority whilst protecting socio-economic livelihoods. It should be emphasized that the President is leading the COVID-19 effort with all the resources at the disposal of the entire Government,” Hengari said.
Shangula, who is the COVID-19 taskforce leader, is still to visit the Erongo region, a position which has been condemned by Walvis Bay Urban councilor Knowledge Ipinge.
“I can never take Kalumbi Shangula serious till the day that he lets go of his fear of getting quarantined for 14 days after his visit to Walvis Bay. What type of Commander is he that’s scared to come to the battle field?” he said.
“They are sitting there in Windhoek coming up with senseless guidelines, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and regulations which end up being rejected by our residents because they don’t speak to the real life situations on the ground.”
This comes as it emerged former health minister, Bernard Haufiku had offered to travel and be based in Erongo to assist government efforts to contain the rising COVID-19 cases.
“I did make the offer to set up shop in Walvis Bay and assist existing government efforts to contain the rising cases in the region and minutes of meetings held will confirm that,” he told the Windhoek Observer.
As of Tuesday, Namibia had recorded three new COVID-19 deaths at Walvis Bay. A total of seven lives have been claimed by the virus, with 22 new infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,366.
