Long awaited SPEDU oxygen project to kickoff
As the country grapples with the dire need of oxygen gas in health facilities, a solution could have been provided as far back as 2018. This would have been through Oxygen Gas (Pty) Ltd that had everything ready save for a 30% off-take agreement with government for the project to begin.
According to sources, internal squabbles and interests of some senior officials within the Ministry of Health and Wellness are to be blamed for the project delay. “The company just needed commitment from the ministry to give to funders but that took way too long until COVID-19 came on shore and found the bad situation. The plant could be sustaining all the health facilities in Botswana and beyond,” a source said.
Oygen Gas is a wholly owned citizen company which was facilitated by the Selebi-Phikwe Economic Diversification Unit (SPEDU) in August 2016 to obtain land. The company intended to produce oxygen, nitrogen and nitrous oxide. According to SPEDU website, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) public review process was completed and subsequently approved in October 2017.
The company has proposed to produce 10,615 tonnes of oxygen, 3,504 tonnes of nitrogen and 876 tonnes of nitrous oxide per annum. The P52 million project is expected to create 205 jobs in Selebi-Phikwe.
Speaking to this publication, Oxygen Gas director, Keamogetse Molebatsi said they have had it tough but expect to hit the ground running soon. “We have come a long way with this project. We had wished to start production in 2018 but we could not have our 30% off-take certificate from government until 2020 when we were granted such by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry. We are now working on finalising with funding institutions and expect to kick off work in the coming months,” he said adding that they would then be able to supply gas under 12 months.
Molebatsi would not be drawn into discussing allegations of sabotage and why their project was delayed. He said they are happy that they would now be able to contribute to the fight against COVID-19 and ensuring oxygen gas security. He said since the demand for the gas is high the world over, it would be crucial that Botswana has a plant in the country. Molebatsi said their project has already received enquiries from both governments and private entities from other countries.
The Health Ministry, which is currently faced with shortage of the gas, believe the project will be of great importance. “The plant will really be of great importance to the country and the SPEDU region as it comes at a time when the country and indeed the rest of the world is in dire need of oxygen. It will therefore, add and augment oxygen supply that could be utilised by both public and private health facilities alike,” chief public relations officer Christopher Nyanga said.
On how the ministry was facilitating the set up, Nyanga said his office is not directly involved in the day to day affairs of private health sector businesses but plays its regulatory role in terms of relevant legislation governing establishment and operation of health facilities.
He said the ministry occasionally seeks the services of private health establishments when in need of such. He said the ministry appreciates the role played by each company in the health sector, in helping the country defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nyanga further said the ministry acknowledges the oxygen supply challenges currently being faced by health facilities across the country. “To address those, certain interventions are being put in place to help bring the situation under control. The 25 ton oxygen tank installed at Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital has helped deal with the oxygen supply challenges at the hospital and will enable it to increase patient admission from the current 100 beds to 195 beds.
An additional oxygen generating plant has also been installed at Princess Marina Hospital. This will help alleviate the situation at the country’s referral hospital in the south of the country. Two hundred and sixty-one oxygen concentrators were also secured in the last week and are currently being distributed to health facilities across the country,” he said.
Nyanga said a tender on supply of oxygen and oxygen generating plants for all ministry primary hospitals closed on July 27, 2021 and a supplier will be appointed before the end of this month adding that the ministry is hopeful that the situation could be fully under control soon.