The 27-paged document made available to The Zimbabwean was prepared by the Ministry of Finance. The Government of National Unity (GNU) also needs more than $18 million to repair or purchase ambulances and service vehicles. Known as “Infrastructure investment priorities for Zimbabwe”, the document is currently circulating among Cabinet ministers. Chitungwiza Central Hospital tops the list of needs with a staggering grand total of $56 717 000 from the government coffers which are, however, currently empty.
The hospital, led by Dr Obadiah Moyo, wants $50 071 000 for infrastructure rehabilitation and development, a figure which is more than five times what the Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals need. Once the envy of Southern African medical practitioners, the hospital’s facilities are now very old and most machines are not working. Wealthy citizens seek medical treatment at expensive local private institutions or even from abroad, while the poor just suffer and die. Only last week The Zimbabwean revealed that President Robert Mugabe was blowing an average of $3 million each time he sought medical treatment overseas.
Parirenyatwa needs a total of $10 335 000 for infrastructure rehabilitation and development, but it needs a grand total of $40 334 000 for upgrading everything. The document shows that Chitungwiza Central Hospital, located in Zimbabwe’s third largest city, needs $1 128 000 for dilapidated medical equipment, $5 395 000 to purchase drugs and medical supplies, and $149 000 for its ICT spruce up.
Parirenyatwa needs $13 392 000 for upgrading its broken down medical equipment, a staggering $15 497 000 to purchase drugs and medical supplies, and $1 110 000 for its ICT. Mpilo Central, the largest hospital in Bulawayo, needs $19 399 000 for its upgrade, while its sister institution, UBH needs $21 688 000.
Mpilo, another very old institution built before Independence, needs $3 423 000 for purchasing medical equipment, surprisingly “only $663 000” for purchasing drugs and medical supplies, $13 336 000 for infrastructure rehabilitation and development, $1 285 500 to beef up supplies in its general stores, $203 500 for ICT, and some $488 000 for buying “mobile equipment”.
Harare Central Hospital, which operates in almost a similar style as Mpilo and built for blacks before Independence, needs $15 665 000 for its upgrade. The hospital, located in Mbare High Density suburb, among the poorest and oldest in Zimbabwe, needs $6 513 000 for its infrastructure rehabilitation and development, $4 547 000 for purchasing medical equipment, $44 565 000 for drugs and medical supplies, and $40 000 for its ICT.
The document reveals that provincial, district and rural health centres need $248 064 000 for upgrading. They need $145 138 000 for infrastructure rehabilitation and development, $98 315 000 for medical equipment, and $4 611 000 for purchasing drugs and medical supplies. Zimbabwe’s health institutions are usually over-crowded and some are accused of selling expired drugs to unsuspecting customers.
Post published in: News