Four hospitals in govt 100-day plan
GOVERNEMNT is working on four hospital projects as part of President Mnangagwa’s 100 Day Plan.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, efforts are underway to construct Lupane Provincial Hospital and complete works at Harare Central Hospital.
In a statement, permanent secretary BrigadierGeneral (Retired) Dr Gerald Gwinji said they were also working on the Sunway City Medical Park in Harare and Ekusileni Hospital in Bulawayo.
“Lupane project commenced and stalled at substructure level due to lack of funding. Harare project is still at feasibility studies stage. We are therefore working on constructing the Lupane hospital and finalising on Harare Hospital,” said Dr Gwinji.
“One of our performance indicators would be the re-awarding of Lupane project contract.”
He said the project cost for both the Lupane Provincial Hospital and Harare Central Hospital would be about $100 million.
“The budget for the Sunway City Medical project will be announced as we are still in the planning stages. We look forward to Chinese and Indian funding for the project,” said Dr Gwinji.
The Ministry is also aiming at awarding a contract after evaluating bids that will see the re-opening of Ekusileni Hospital in Bulawayo.
“Currently we have made a request for detailed proposals made to selected bidders. However basic medicines are required to offer basic services across all health institutions,” said Dr Gwinji.
Ekusileni Hospital was built in 2001, operated for a few months and was subsequently shut down after it was discovered that the acquired equipment, worth millions of dollars, was obsolete.
Matabelaland North provincial medical director Dr Nyasha Masuka, who chairs the committee tasked with ensuring that the institution re-opens, recently said he was hopeful the placement of the institution on the 100-day programme would this time around yield tangible results.
After he assumed office in November, President Mnangagwa said Government officials should implement identified projects within 100-day cycles until the 2018 harmonised elections in a move aimed at reviving the economy.—@thamamoe