The new hospital is expected to be opened in September this year, according to health minister, Jules Ienfa.
The proposed name in French is “Centre Hospitalier de Taaone,” or in English the Taaone General Hospital.
Taaone is located near Papeete, in the commune of Pirae where the 29 billion French Pacific franc ($330 million) 547-room hospital has been under construction for eight years.
The Tong Sang government prefers a non-political name for the hospital that will replace the French Polynesia General Hospital in the Mamao area of Papeete.
Internet users will be able to vote online for three weeks, starting Jan. 29, to decide if they agree or disagree with the proposed name.
“I know this is a topic that seems a bit secondary in view of what is going on, but it’s important to me, because the name is part of the soul,” said Health Minister Ienfa, who also is the Tong Sang government’s vice president.
He was referring to the current political as well as financial crisis in French Polynesia.
“I had some ideas (for a name), but the ‘country’s’ president wanted a wider consultation so the people could” choose a suitable name, Ienfa said.
At one time several years ago there was talk of naming the modern health facility the Jacques Chirac Hospital. Chirac was president of France when the state agreed to a 100 percent financing of the construction of the hospital.
Chirac has been a close friend of veteran Tahiti politician Gaston Flosse, whose government launched the hospital’s construction in January 2001.
Although President Tong Sang was a member of the 2001 Flosse government, Flosse today is one of the two leaders of Tahiti’s political opposition.
Ienfa rejected the idea of naming the hospital after France’s former president. He said it was more important to “focus on the location of the hospital, Taaone, rather than choosing a name with a political connotation.”
When the three-week Internet poll is completed, a seven-person committee will examine the results and choose the name.
