Mberengwa medical guru hails Chiwenga tour of Mataga hospital
MBERENGWA- THE secretary for health in the Paul Maposa led MBERENGWA DCC Dr Cumings Hove has hailed Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s tour of the recently completed Mataga Mini Hospital, saying the health facility will go a long way in addressing their challenges in terms of accessing quality healthcare.
“I salute the Vice President and the Second Republic for walking the talk and implementing sound projects for the health delivery system in our province.
“Going forward we are going to offer training sessions to health care workers in the district and the entire province.
“We are also on the verge of acquiring an ambulance or two bearing in mind the fact that there is a nurse who is now late who had to use a scotch cart to ferry patients and we say no and big NO to that mode of transportation to patients.
“Using my medical network ,we will mobilise and encourage doctors, nurses and other health workers from the province and district to come together and offer medical services at this beautiful piece of medical infrastructure. It can be done and it will be done. We will also, in partnership with the government, mobilise drugs and other consumables,” said Dr Hove.
Once operational, the state-of-the-art health facility will come in handy for villagers who are forced to travel far away to Zvishavane, Gweru and Bulawayo to access healthcare. When the DCC car overturned, about a year ago, Dr Hove sent his own vehicle (kombi) to transport the affected victims all the way from Mataga to receive specialist medical treatment in Harare. Most of the victims recovered and are well to this day. Unfortunately one person, the driver sustained severe injuries and later died at Parirenyatwa Hospital.
The 20-bed hospital will offer maternity, laboratory, dispensary, counselling, female, male, paediatric and radiological services.
The facility, which will be opened soon by President Mnangagwa, is the third to be completed under an initiative by the Second Republic to build 30 clinics and five district hospitals across the country.
Construction of the health centres is being done by British-owned NMS Infrastructure Limited and wholly funded by the Government through the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
Dr Hove who hails from the same province and from Mberengwa District, made some donations in Mataga and said he was elated with how much the latest development will assist the community vis-a- vis health care delivery.
VP Chiwenga said Mataga Mini Hospital construction is aimed at bringing quality health services to all the people in line with the Second Republic’s philosophy of leaving no one and no place behind.
He said the new health centre is furnished with state-of-the-art equipment as part of the Government’s efforts to improve access to health.
“As you are aware, our emphasis has been to reach every corner of our country, but more importantly starting with those places which had been neglected for a long time, which did not have medical facilities closer to the people yet those areas are populated,” said VP Chiwenga.
Meanwhile, besides his immense contribution in the health sector, Dr Hove has also embarked on infrastructural development projects in the province.
He partnered with Mberengwa Rural District and the then Member of Parliament for Mberengwa South Honourable T. Hungwe to rehabilitate the 32km Zvomukonde-Ngungumbane Road and complement the Government’s ongoing Emergency Roads Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP).
The road links Mberengwa South and East constituencies to the local Grain Marketing Board (GMB) depot and its damage had adversely affected the delivery of farming inputs, medicines and food aid.
He was also behind the rehabilitation of the Chemimwe – Mwembe via Mbirashava Road which he singularly funded to the tune of approximately 7000USD. As secretary of health, Dr Cumings Hove was determined to help villagers access healthcare at Mnene Hospital, one of the large mission hospitals in Mberengwa District.
