Corporates urged to support health

Mashonaland West Bureau
Private organisations and corporates should support the health sector, Zimplats general manager Mr Louis Mabiza said while handing over a newly-built and fully-equipped laundry block valued at US$65 000 at Chegutu District Hospital on Tuesday.

The Government alone cannot improve all health facilities, he said.

“While our country may be experiencing several challenges, we believe that by uniting to tackle the various challenges, we will make a positive difference in the lives of our fellow citizens,” said Mr Mabiza.

“As we handover this equipment today, we are also challenging other business operators in this area to walk the journey with this hospital and upgrade it to the standards commensurate with our country’s Vision 2030.”

Apart from the laundry block, Zimplats also gave ventilators and personal protective equipment to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital.

Monitors for ventilators previously given to Chegutu and Norton hospitals were also handed over during the event.

Mr Mabiza said Zimplats was committed to supporting the Government through various initiatives to improve the livelihoods of citizens. Already, it has spent over US$200 million on community development mainly in Mhondoro-Ngezi and Chegutu rural districts.

Chinhoyi District Hospital had inadequate water supplies, while the mortuary was not equipped and the laundry was no longer efficient.  Mr Mabiza said Zimplats listened to the request and believed its intervention will help the hospital and the community.

Zimplats, which has also embarked on a US$2,5 million facelift of the Kadoma General Hospital, has applauded frontline health personnel for rising to the occasion in mitigating Covid-19, but urged Zimbabwe to remain vigilant.

Minister of State for Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mary Mliswa-Chikoka said the mining sector was one of the key enablers for economic growth that Government was expecting to play a leading role in contributing to economic transformation.

“The work done by Zimplats is the tone that we want to set for other mining houses and corporates in the province as we seek to raise our provincial GDP under devolution,” she said.

The 101-bed Chegutu District Hospital serves at least 280 000 people in the district.

Chegutu Hospital superintendent, Dr Collet Mawire, said Zimplats’ gesture would boost their fight against Covid-19 since it was the provincial referral centre.

Dr Mawire said the hospital was operating without a ventilator, which raised fears among the health workers at the institution.

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