By Veripuami Kangumine | 25 May 2025
The nurses’ homes near Windhoek Central Hospital are not well.
Once a thriving and diverse community of health professionals that included medical interns, doctors, pharmacists, radiologists, and contract specialists, the four buildings are tall, dilapidated, and almost vacant shadows of their former selves.
For 45 years after their construction in 1980 they were considered favourable accommodation for the nearby hospital’s staff.
With eight floors and an estimated 320 flats, each block was meant to house Ministry of Health and Social Services employees.
Now, they harbour a chronic illness.
The symptoms: peeling paint on crumbling walls, water-damaged ceilings, rubbish-littered hallways, cracked and missing tiles, defunct elevators, missing doors, and broken windows winking at the sky.
The diagnosis: neglect and dereliction.
According to one of the current tenants who prefers anonymity, those who remain on the premises were relocated to a single block in March 2024 due to the buildings’ instability.
“They are all in the last block [block F] because the other buildings will fall,” he says, pointing to the building closest to the hospital.
Block F, a separate section of the nurses’ homes, houses 10 flats on eight floors – each with a built-in kitchenette and wardrobe.
As the buildings’ infrastructural malaise deepens, more tenants are moving out due to the uncertainty of long-term tenure and the prevalent safety hazards.
MILLIONS TO RENOVATE
Executive director of health and social services Penda Ithindi says it will cost the government approximately N$67.2 million to renovate the nurses’ homes.
N$16.2 million per building and N$2.1 million per floor – an expensive bill of health.
“The estimated cost of renovation is N$2.1 million per floor, based on similar renovations previously carried out at the Katutura nurses’ home,” he says.
Ithindi says the ministry is aware that the buildings are unfit for human habitation after a joint investigation was carried out in 2021 by the City of Windhoek’s environmental engineering section and the ministry’s environment section.
The findings of this investigation led to the closure of blocks A, B, and C.
The delay in the renovations, Ithindi says, is due to budget constraints which cannot be accommodated under the ministry’s maintenance budget. The renovations have been reclassified as a capital project which has since been registered with the Ministry of Finance as a potential project for a public-private partnership.
However, the commencement and completion of the renovations have yet to be finalised as funding and implementation arrangements are yet to be arranged.
While no formal records show the ‘condemned’ status of the buildings, the decision to vacate three of the tower blocks was based on the investigation’s recommendations.
“Maintenance of the buildings was conducted yearly on a needs basis, focusing on minor issues such as leaking taps, blocked sewers, and lighting repairs,” Ithindi says.
The nurses’ homes remain operational and are reserved for essential staff such as maintenance personnel, emergency practitioners and drivers, with a monthly rent of only N$300.
“Although the monthly rent is low, the ministry has not publicly disclosed the specific rationale [for maintaining it],” he says.
The building is supervised by ‘housing mothers’ and a contracted security company.
It is presumed the rent is subsidised to support essential workers. The cost of operating the buildings is covered under the ministry’s general maintenance budget.
