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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
Beitbridge East legislator Cde Albert Nguluvhe has urged Government and its partners to increase support to the local district referral hospital to improve service delivery, considering it also caters for the regional transit population.

Beitbridge District Hospital is a referral centre for 120 000 people from the district and a further daily transit population.

In an interview soon after donating food items to all patients admitted to the health institution on New Year’s Day, Cde Nguluvhe said the hospital was facing a number of service delivery challenges.

“Recently we visited the institution with other community leaders and we were told of the operational challenges here.

“Some of the challenges relate to medical equipment, accommodation for expecting mothers, water and sanitation and staff accommodation among others.

“It is important that corporates, community leaders, businesses partner with Government in improving the quality of services at this institution.

“This is not only an institution that caters for Zimbabweans only, but all those who fall ill or are involved in road accidents on their journeys to several countries within SADC region,” said Cde Nguluvhe.

He said he had since engage the Minister of Health and Child Care Dr Obadiah Moyo to help in addressing some of the issues affecting operations at Beitbridge District Hospital.

He said it was also important for luminaries from the district to pool resources together and contribute to the improvement of services.

Cde Nguluvhe’s donation comes a few weeks after Zanu-PF donated assorted food items which were left over during the party’s recent conference held in Esigodini.

Senator for Beitbridge constituency Cde Tambudzani Mohadi recently urged Government to consider expanding facilities at the district referral hospital in line with the town’s rapid growth.

She said the current 140-bed health institution was overstrained by the ever growing population.

“We are very grateful to President Mnangagwa for upgrading our town into a municipality and this is a call for us to start working on expanding the current referral hospital and constructing more primary health care facilities in this town,” said Senator Mohadi.

“The few institutions we have are overstrained by both the ever increasing local and transit population, due to the town’s economic activity and proximity to South Africa.

“In addition, we need to reopen the major hotels, which closed two years ago. We can’t have a town with limited accommodation facilities.”