The government chose to build the Ndola psychiatric hospital in the Copperbelt region to decentralize mental health services in various sections of Zambia. However, the project at Ndola’s Psychiatric Hospital has been in the works for nearly eight years and has yet to be completed. Nonetheless, under the current UPND administration, there is renewed optimism that the facility’s stalled construction may resume following the Ministry of Justice’s approval of a cost variation.
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Ndola Psychiatric Hospital’s Timeline
The Ndola psychiatric hospital, whose construction has been halted, is being built under the auspices of Ndola Teaching Hospital (NTH). The mental health facility’s construction began in 2014. The hospital is next to the main NTH building, at the Ndola-Kitwe junction. According to NTH Acting Senior Medical Superintendent Misa Funjika, the project stopped due to anomalies in the bill of quantity and the scale of the structure that was discovered, as well as a lack of finance.
When Copperbelt Province Minister Elisha Matambo toured the project with Permanent Secretary Augustine Kasongo and Deputy Permanent Secretary Daniel Kamenga, Dr Funjika remarked this. According to Dr Funjika, NTH requested permission from the Ministry of Justice to modify the contract price. She stated that funds were awaited to resume the task.
The project’s cost, which was anticipated at K14 million when it began in 2014, has now risen to K18 million due to inflation and rising building material prices, according to Dr Funjika. She stated that the contractor has been paid K11 million for the job that has already been completed. The deal was initially for 70 weeks. As a result, it is projected that the construction to be completed by 2016. They did, however, face hurdles, according to Dr Funjika, including financial, technical, and structural issues.
She said that anomalies in the bill of quantity and the building’s size were discovered. As a result, the contractor began to slow down, and the project’s cost has now increased to K18 million due to inflation. She stated that once completed, the hospital would assist in addressing the issues that psychiatric patients experience. The current mental wards at NTH, which can accommodate 75 patients, are in a bad state, according to Dr Funjika.
Mr Matambo stated that he will contact the line ministry to begin work on the mental health institution as soon as possible. The Minister of Coppebelt Province stated that the government is dedicated to completing infrastructure projects, particularly in the education and health sectors, that have moved beyond 80%.
