23 Feb 2026

After dragging on for years, the refurbishment of the old Maun General Hospital is expected to be concluded soon.

This derives from a recent visit by a team from the Ministry of Health that conducted an assessment to determine what could be done to push the project to completion, thus ensuring that the facility begins to serve its intended purpose.

The refurbishment of the facility, which is expected to serve as a referral hospital, stalled since 2017 due to various factors including the contractor abandoning site, vandalism of completed works and break-ins.

The project was anticipated to take approximately one year but it was reported to be stuck at 90 per cent completion and the delays caused frustration among North West District leadership, some of whom called for the termination of the contract since the company engaged had failed to meet the July 2018 deadline.

In an interview, Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital superintendent, Dr Lebogang Mokotedi confirmed that a team from the ministry visited the facility to conduct an assessment to determine what was required to complete the project.

She said the visit was a positive move as, once in use, the facility would decongest the 270-bed Letsholathebe Hospital which was currently facing high demand as it served the North West, Okavango, Ghanzi and Boteti districts.

“With plans of transforming Maun into a green city and the discussions on the construction of a new airport, we need another health facility with more beds to alleviate pressure on the existing one,” she added.

Once completed, the facility will also help reduce the distance travelled by residents to access specialised services. Services to be offered will include general out-patient, maternity, dental services, sexual reproductive health, minor theatre services, radiology and isolation facilities.

Meanwhile, some residents of Maun have complained that the old Maun General Hospital had been neglected since the commissioning of the Letsholathebe Hospital in 2008. They complained about the poor state of the facility saying it was posing a danger to the lives of patients and workers.

When government took a decision to renovate the facility, residents were hopeful that the project would be completed on time, a dream that did not materialise. One of the residents, Mr John Benn attested that the facility had been neglected for long, exposing it to vandalism.

“When government took a decision to renovate the facility, we had high hopes that it would reduce congestion at Letsholathebe Hospital which is currently overwhelmed, but the lack of progress with the project is disappointing,” he added. BOPA