Officials directed to use public health facilities

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has issued a directive to all senior state employees under the Public Service Medical Aid Scheme (Psemas) to use public healthcare facilities from April 2026. According to The Namibian, Prime Minister Elijah Ngurare said the government would be implementing the Presidential directive. Although the details of the plan are sketchy, Ngurare said the government was planning to upgrade public healthcare facilities to a standard at which the President could confidently use it. He said civil servants currently invest billions of dollars in the private healthcare sector. The government is assessing the feasibility of the transition from private to public healthcare and has been given one year to do so, the Prime Minister said. Ngurare said the transition would create 31 000 jobs in the public healthcare sector. However, Swanu of Namibia president Evilastus Kaaronda warned that any forced directive should not be allowed in a democratic country like Namibia. He cautioned that in the current state, the health sector lacked capacity to handle high volumes, saying it could result in people risking their health. It would be irresponsible for the President to give such a directive without capacitating the health sector first, Kaaronda said.

Full report in The Namibian