Opuwo hospital to be upgraded
The Opuwo District Hospital will soon be upgraded to a regional referral hospital, as planned in the Ministry of Health and Social Services’ roadmap approved by Cabinet last year.
This was announced by Health Minister Dr Richard Kamwi last week during the official opening of the new maternity ward at the hospital. This facility was officially opened in 1978 for a population of about 8 000 people. Currently, the region’s inhabitants are estimated at 90 000 people.
It is one of the oldest hospitals in the country, and was renovated and extended after independence. “People of the Opuwo medical district should know that Cabinet last year approved that the Ministry of Health establishes regional referral hospitals countrywide, including the Opuwo District Hospital to become a referral hospital in the near future,” Kamwi added.
Chinese rhino horn dealer gets bail
A 32-year-old Chinese national appeared in the Opuwo Magistrate’s Court last week after his arrest with two rhinoceros horns at Opuwo on Wednesday.
The suspect, Dejin Xu, who runs a business in Oshakati, was charged with dealing in controlled game products.
He was granted bail of N$20 000 by the Opuwo Magistrate’s Court on Friday, and the case was postponed to April 4 for further investigations.
An incident report by the Opuwo police indicated that they received a tip-off from members of the public that a Chinese businessman allegedly sent people to Opuwo to look for elephant tusks or rhino horns to buy.
The Nampol’s Protected Resources Unit and the relevant Ministry of Environment and Tourism departments then availed State-owned rhino horns to be used as a ploy to catch the potential buyer.
The suspect was arrested with the two rhino horns weighing about 6.8 kg and a combined value of about N$100 000.
Reports by Nampa