Govt scouts for Ekusileni investors
THE Ministry of Health and Child Care has started canvassing for investors to set up and equip Ekusileni Hospital with clinical specialties as the Government steps up efforts to re-open the medical facility, which has been lying idle for 13 years.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care yesterday placed a notice in the media, saying it was looking for investors to finance the project, which would cater for the entire country and the Matabeleland region in particular.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care invites investors that would like to express their interest to establish and equip a Centre of Excellence in Clinical Specialties for Zimbabwe and the region at Joshua M Nkomo Ekusileni Hospital in Bulawayo,” reads the notice.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care said it is a prerequisite that potential investors should have a sound financial status, investment experience in the health sector, a certificate of incorporation, a valid tax clearance certificate among other requirements.
Potential investors will be shortlisted and called for interviews. The latest development comes barely a month after Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisca Mupfumira expressed optimism on the re-opening of the specialist hospital, saying a number of investors had expressed interest in running the medical institution.
The hospital is situated on an area measuring three hectares in a low density area and it has 22 self contained three bed-roomed vacant town houses.
The hospital was built by the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) and handed over to the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
Minister Mupfumira recently told The Chronicle that investors from China, India and other countries have expressed interest in partnering the Government.
Health and Child Care Minister Dr Parirenyatwa last month acknowledged that the Bulawayo community was frustrated that the hospital has not opened its doors to the public for more than a decade.
He said efforts were being made to make sure that the hospital, which was the brainchild of the late nationalist and Vice President Dr Joshua Nkomo, is fully operational.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care recently appointed a committee chaired by Matabeleland North Provincial Medical Director Dr Nyasha Masuka to identify an appropriate investor to partner the Government in the running of the hospital.
The specialist hospital was built in 2001 and was shut down in 2004 shortly after opening its doors to the public.
This was after it was discovered that the acquired equipment, worth millions of dollars, was obsolete.
The hospital has been undergoing renovations over the past two years due to the damage on infrastructure caused by termites. — @mashnets