A planned medical centre estimated at approximately N$140 million has emerged as the flagship of Navachab Gold Mine’s community investment programme in Karibib and surrounding areas.
The Karibib Medical Centre is a Navachab-led, multi-party project aimed at strengthening health infrastructure and improving access to healthcare for communities in the area. The project was highlighted during Navachab’s Media Engagement held in Karibib on Friday, where the mine presented its social investment activities and broader contribution to surrounding communities.
Navachab Managing Director George Botshiwe said the mine’s community investments were guided by identified needs in areas including education and training, infrastructure, entrepreneurship and job creation, health and wellbeing, as well as safety and emergency support. “Why would we support a medical centre? Simple: Because access to care matters to the people with whom we share this community,” Botshiwe said. The medical centre is estimated to cost approximately N$140 million for the 2025/26 period and represents the largest component of Navachab’s community-focused investments.
The mine said its broader social investment programme reached more than N$33 million in CSR spending during 2025, supporting a range of projects in surrounding communities. These include traffic lights in Karibib, the Otjimbingwe Mortuary, electrification in the Usab informal settlement, school construction and hostel renovations. Navachab is also constructing the Usakos SME Park at a reported cost of N$12.5 million. The mine expects to hand the facility over to the Usakos Town Council at the end of October.
According to Navachab, its community investment approach is needs-based and linked to maintaining its social licence to operate. The mine’s 2025/26 social investment presentation put total investment to impact at approximately N$160 million, reaching more than 100 000 people across several areas. Of this, approximately N$100 million was allocated to infrastructure, N$27 million to education and training, N$23 million to health and wellbeing, N$2.5 million to entrepreneurship and job creation, and N$3.2 million to safety and emergency support.
Botshiwe said its emergency-response capabilities have also supported surrounding communities, including Karibib, Usakos and Otjimbingwe, during vehicle accidents, medical emergencies, trauma incidents and fires. Botshiwe said the communities surrounding the mine formed an important part of Navachab’s future. “Our employees and their families live here; our suppliers work here.
Our future is closely connected to theirs,” he said. The medical centre and other community projects form part of Navachab’s wider effort to demonstrate that the mine’s impact extends beyond its mining operations. The mine has been operating near Karibib since commercial gold production began in 1989.
By Sharlien Tjambari
