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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
Beitbridge West Constituency legislator Cde Metrine Mdau has appealed to Government and its development partners to construct more primary healthcare facilities in Beitbridge district.

In an interview recently, Cde Mdau said the situation in Beitbridge was deplorable, as people were walking more than 15 kilometres to access health services. The World Health Organisation standards stipulate that people should not walk for more than eight kilometres to access primary health facilities. Cde Mdau said besides an acute shortage of health facilities, there was also need to electrify the existing ones and equip them with requisite medical tools and human resources.

“The situation in the rural areas of the district is worrying and we are appealing to Government and development agents to rescue communities in these areas,” she said. Cde Mdau said the ideal situation would be to have at least two clinics in each of the 15 rural wards in the district.

“So far, there are 16 rural clinics, which are not adequate for our populace,” she said. Cde Mdau said the worst affected people were those living in areas such as Hwunga, Mazunga, Dumba and Chabili. She said although some of the clinics had electricity, there was need to use solar systems as alternative energy sources.

“The communication systems are also worrying, especially in cases of emergency where most people are relying on mobile cellular providers from South Africa and Botswana,” said Cde Mdau.

“We need to work on upgrading our mobile telephone network reception and the road network.” An estimated 160 000 people live in Beitbridge District and the majority stay in the rural areas. Cde Mdau said communication challenges had been worsened by the vandalism targeted at fixed telephone lines, which used to connect most business centres in the district. The Beitbridge Rural District Council, in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration, is constructing a new clinic to service close to 6 000 villagers in Chabili area. The clinic, which is almost complete, is set to open its doors in November.