Online Reporter
IN a powerful gesture of leadership, President Mnangagwa’s unannounced visit to public hospitals in Harare on Monday has cast a glaring spotlight on the state of Zimbabwe’s public healthcare system. His decision to experience, first-hand; the conditions that ordinary citizens face daily is both commendable and overdue.
It is a moment that has resonated deeply with the public, not merely because of its symbolism, but because it has laid bare the urgent need for systemic reform in a sector that has long been neglected.
For a long time, Zimbabwe’s healthcare infrastructure has been in a state of steady decline. Hospitals that were once regional centres of excellence have become shadows of their former selves — under-resourced and overwhelmed.
The President’s reported shock at the state of facilities, the lack of basic medical supplies and the visible frustration of healthcare workers, is a reflection of what countless Zimbabweans have endured in silence. It is a reality that has been normalised for far too long, and one that demands not just acknowledgement, but decisive and sustained action.
The President’s intervention must now serve as a turning point. The Government is now required to set up a comprehensive, transparent, and time-bound strategy to revitalise the healthcare system from the ground up. This begins with a significant increase in public investment. Hospitals like Parirenyatwa and Mpilo Central Hospital need more than cosmetic upgrades — they require modern equipment, reliable power and water supplies and digital systems that can streamline patient care and improve outcomes. Infrastructure alone, however, will not suffice.
Healthcare reform must be inclusive and equitable. Rural communities, in particular, continue to suffer from a lack of access to even the most basic services. Clinics are often located miles away from the people they are meant to serve, and when they are accessible, they are frequently ill-equipped and understaffed.
The devolution of health services, as enshrined in the Constitution, must be implemented in both letter and spirit. Resources must be distributed fairly and local authorities must be empowered — and held accountable — to deliver quality care at the community level.
Transparency and accountability are the bedrock of any successful reform. We are glad to learn that the President’s visit will not be a one-off event, nor was it a public relations exercise. There will be regular, independent audits of healthcare institutions, with findings made public. Citizens must be able to track progress and hold leaders to account. Corruption, which has plagued procurement and service delivery in the past, must be rooted out with zero tolerance.
Ultimately, the right to health is enshrined in Zimbabwe’s Constitution. It is not a privilege reserved for the few, but a fundamental entitlement of every citizen. The President’s gesture has opened a window of opportunity — but this opportunity will be squandered if it is not followed by concrete, measurable action. The time for platitudes has passed. What Zimbabwe needs now is delivery — bold, honest and sustained.
As Deputy Chief Secretary in the Office of the President and Cabinet responsible for Presidential Communications, Mr George Charamba said, “…we need to fire on all cylinders and make some interventions, which are far-reaching…”
We talk as if we know where we will get resources to uplift the standards of our health systems. In the same vain we wail about crumpling health systems, we should also stop to think about how to mobilize the required resources. Blaming assumed corruption is a tired excuse. We as ordinary citizens are in the habit of doing things that clearly rob the government of potential sources of revenue. It is unfair to point fingers at others when we are neck-deep in the same malfeasances. Besides robbing the government of potential revenue by running small businesses all over the show that aren’t tax compliant, how much of our drugs are being pilfered by hospital staff, doctors and nurses from our public health institutions and sold in private pharmacies some of which belong to these members? Are we not all aware of that? Zimbabweans are well known for apportioning blame on government yet they create the problems for themselves. Corruption is binary. There is no point in claiming that there is corruption when one doesn’t bring the evidence forward for further processing. If one doesn’t have facts that one is ready to provide one must just shut up. It doesn’t help to just mourn without action.