…Opened in 2022, the shelter remains unoccupied because it was never officially handed over.
TIRI MASAWI
Expectant mothers in Outapi are sleeping in makeshift shacks while a N$10 million modern maternity facility built for their protection sits empty.
The Tukwathela Expectant Mothers’ Shelter at Outapi, completed in 2022, is part of a N$40 million national plan by the Social Security Commission to provide safe havens for pregnant women. Yet, three years on, the modern shelter gathers dust just meters from the makeshift homes mothers are forced to use.
Both the modern and makeshift shelters are located near the Outapi District Hospital.
Ministry of Health and Social Services Executive Director Penda Ithindi said that the formal handover falls under the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development. “The formal handover essentially entails asset transfer. This matter is under the purview of the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development. I suggest that you approach them,” he said.
SSC Chief Executive Officer Milka Mungunda told The Namibia Business Review last week that the facility could not be handed over as planned due to Covid-19 disruptions and now requires touch-ups.
“The facility in Outapi was completed, but it could not be handed over because we were affected by Covid-19 at the time we planned to hand it over with the relevant ministry. I am also informed that the Outapi facility might need touch-ups as it is not in the mint condition it was when work was completed,” Mungunda said.
The shelter is part of SSC’s national maternal shelter programme, launched in 2016 with a total projected budget of N$40 million to build facilities in Outapi, Katima Mulilo, Rundu, and Aussenkehr. While the Katima Mulilo shelter is operational, Outapi remains idle, and progress in Rundu is stalled due to land acquisition issues.
Mungunda stressed the programme’s national importance. “It is a programme that aims to change the challenges that women are facing. It is an important project that SSC is undertaking to make sure that such a situation improves,” she said.
The maternal shelter initiative has faced additional financial pressures. In 2022, reports emerged that the Cabinet allegedly sought to redirect N$40 million from SSC to fund a government internship programme. While recent 2025 updates note increases in maternity, sick leave, and death benefits, as well as grants for job creation and bursaries, no new allocations have been made for maternal shelters.
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