On Sunday, the Standard newspaper reported that several babies had died at Parirenyatwa hospital because of recurrent power cuts, which affected critical equipment for babies such as incubators and oxygen monitoring machines. Nurses confirmed the deaths, with one medical officer saying the main cause was that the power cables were very old and faulty.
Recently the maternity wings went for days without electricity, he added. ZESA has acknowledged the frequent power outages at Parirenyatwa Hospital and blamed them on old power cables.
“Our infrastructure is also old and is now prone to failure,” a ZESA spokesman said. ZESA said its policy is that critical areas like hospitals are not included in their load shedding plans. Efforts to reach Parirenyatwa hospital for a comment were not successful.
When asked what action the parents could take, ZADHR chairman Dr Douglas Gwatidzo told SW Radio Africa on Monday that: “If it is indeed true that the babies died as a result of a lack of electricity, then I think it is within their rights to get their situation redressed in the best manner possible.”
Lawyer Matshobana Ncube of the Abammeli Human Rights Lawyers’ Network explained that the death of the babies could cause trauma to the parents, and they could sue on that ground.
Gwatidzo meanwhile said that the electrical cables in the hospital needed to be replaced.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the cables themselves are being affected because they need replacement. We have said before that that there must be a replacement plan in place for all these old cables, including old machinery, old equipment,” he said.
ZESA’s poor infrastructure and load shedding is widely condemned. Last week CZI president Joseph Kanyekanye told delegates at a conference in Victoria Falls that if unresolved, power outages will soon cripple industries.
Post published in: News