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Munyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Correspondent
Mnene Mission Hospital in Mberengwa is struggling to recover over US$100 000 it paid to a Bulawayo-based construction company to rehabilitate dilapidated infrastructure.
They engaged a Bulawayo-based construction company, Food Miles Trading (Private) Limited, to undertake the rehabilitation project in February 2012 but the firm is said to have failed to do the job.

Mnene Hospital applied for US$180 000 from Government for work on the Lutheran Church-run institution and were extended US$100 000 in December 2011.

Mnene is Mberengwa’s biggest referral health institution and services 35 clinics and four rural hospitals.
Under the contract, the company was supposed to renovate the administration block, maternity, female and male wards, the outpatient and opportunistic infection departments.

They were also to rehabilitate the water and sewer systems, repairing electrical fittings, a project that was supposed to be completed within six months.

Documents with The Herald indicate that Food Miles Trading was contracted to undertake the works at a cost of US$180 000.
“We (Mnene Mission Hospital) paid Food Miles a deposit of US$100 000 after a delivery of substantial material as well as commencement of the renovations with the intention to settle the remainder after inspection of the works listed in the contract,” reads part of the documents.

Mnene Hospital administrator Mr Ziboniso Moyo said they were making frantic efforts to recover the money.
“No building has been fully renovated and the time frame set for the renovations to be completed has elapsed. The company has not done anything much equated to the US$100 000 deposit we paid. They went on to demand the remaining amount, but we turned their request down.”

The hospital was now taking remedial action against the company.
“We are in the process of taking legal action. We tried to engage the company to recover the money, but they have been giving empty promises,” said Mr Moyo.