Mthuli Ncube lost in the wilderness

FINANCE and Economic Development minister Mthuli Ncube looks like a man lost in the wilderness, where everything is in abundance, but without takers.

Firstly, the country is full of resources which could be sold to solve the problems we are facing currently. The minister seems very educated, but at the same time clueless on how to tackle problems head-on.

Recently, Ncube committed close to $270 million towards construction of a VVIP hospital at Manyame Airbase in Harare and the structure is almost complete.

Ncube made the revelations when presenting his midterm budget review statement recently.

The facility is meant to benefit the country’s VVIPs and service chiefs, who have often been accused of blowing large sums of foreign currency seeking medical treatment in far-away countries like China and India while avoiding dilapidated medical facilities back home.

This comes at a time when public hospitals are in bad shape with reports of drug shortages and an incapacitated healthcare workforce owing to poor salaries and working conditions.

The government should set its priorities right. The money used to build the political elite’s state-of-the-art Manyame Hospital could have been channelled towards the refurbishment of public hospitals which are in a sorry state or at least buy essentials which are in short supply.

Going forward, we demand that Ncube revisits his budget review statement for the good of the people.