Online Reporter
Mthabisi Tshuma, [email protected]
THE gods are smiling upon Matobo District, with the year 2026 proving to be a results-oriented period of development across all sectors.
From infrastructure development, all thanks to the legacy projects brought by Independence Day national celebrations in the district, cultural centres, schools’ computer laboratories, an accommodating stadium, homes for liberation heroes- you name it, all are there in Matobo.
Since 2006, classrooms at Maphisa District Hospital’s nursing training school have turned into a white elephant.
Young people from the district who dreamed of wearing a nurse’s uniform had to look the other way and travel long distances, and compete for places in Bulawayo, Harare or beyond.
On Monday 7 September 2026, a new dawn came, bringing with it renewed hope for rural youth and relief for families.
The first intake saw only 25 young people from the district being allowed to become nurses.
Maphisa District Hospital Nursing School re-opened its doors and acted as yet another tangible sign of the Second Republic’s push to decentralise services under President Mnangagwa’s Independence Legacy Projects.
The institution was officially spruced up and handed back to the province as part of the Government’s programme to revive and equip high-impact legacy facilities that were mothballed after independence.
The nursing school now joins Gwanda Multi-Disciplinary Provincial Hospital, Brunapeg and Tshelanyemba as fully functional health training institutions in Matabeleland South.
Plumtree District Hospital is in the pipeline and expected to be functional by year-end or early next year.
Matabeleland South Provincial Medical Director (PMD) Dr Andrew Muza said the intake will be held annually.
“The school will have an annual intake of +/- 25 students in September. The current intake has students from Matobo District only, while subsequent intakes will have a mix of students from the other districts in Matabeleland South as well as other provinces.
“Training students at Maphisa Hospital will help us train nurses who will be easily retained in the province. This will help us to address our current staff shortages. The nurses who will graduate will be deployed to work stations through the Health Services Commission according to laid down procedures. The DHE in Matobo will run the school and meet day-to-day requirements for the school,” said Dr Muza.
Maphisa Town Board Chairperson Councillor Rosebud Siziba hailed the resurrection of the school.
“25 students were enrolled, which is 19 females and six males. There are two tutors and two clinical instructors. The students trained as nurses will be easily deployed since the students are locals, and they are ready to save their community. They have a sense of ownership since they are training in their home district,” said Clr Siziba.
