Chronicle Editor
Mkhululi Ncube, Chronicle Reporter
EKUSILENI Medical Centre in Bulawayo which is preparing to admit Covid-19 patients, has appealed to Government to fund its operations as it now owes service providers $2 million.
The hospital which has been designated as a Covid-19 centre, was closed more than 15 years ago when its equipment was declared obsolete.
The health facility which was supposed to be a specialist hospital, is a brainchild of the late Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo.
The institution whose buildings are owned by the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) has experienced several false starts.
The hospital was opened in 2001 and closed in 2004.
Plans are now at an advanced stage to re-open the hospital with a 50-bed capacity which will further boost Bulawayo province’s Covid-19 centres.
The other centres are Thorngrove hospital, United Bulawayo Hospitals and the Roman Catholic-owned Mater Dei Hospital.
The acting chief executive officer of Ekusileni hospital Dr Absolom Dube told a provincial Covid-19 Taskforce meeting on Tuesday that the hospital is yet to get operational funding.
“We are yet to get funding for operations. We have arrears of $1,9 million to Zesa, Bulawayo City Council and TelOne. We are not able to clear the bills since we are not getting funding for our operations from the Government,” said Dr Dube.
He said besides funding for operations, the hospital needs vehicles and ambulances.
Dr Dube said the institution has already submitted the list of requirements to the Government as they want to be operational by the time the country experiences the third wave of the pandemic.
He bemoaned the lackadaisical approach to work by a company that won a tender to carry out critical work that needs to be finished before the opening of the hospital.
“We have progressed very well infrastructure-wise. Several works that were pending have been completed. The AC control was supposed to have been commissioned on 12 April but the company says it needs more weeks to finish the work. We are not happy with the rate at which they are progressing,” he said.
Dr Dube said the company has been changing goalposts regarding the issue of deadlines, which forced the hospital to write to the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe to express its displeasure.
He said Nssa had provided some funding to enable the hospital to start admitting Covid-19 patients.
“The projects have moved mainly because of the $50 million we got from Nssa. They have indicated in principle that they have also secured another $30 million for us to finish the outstanding works. This will enable us to open most sections of the hospital and admit up to 50 patients,” he said.
Dr Dube said they have secured funding for five ICU beds and 10 ordinary beds with the adjudicating process being done now to select a company that will supply the beds.
He said the hospital authorities are still looking for funding for office furniture and ICT equipment but emphasised that this will not stop the opening of the hospital once equipment needed to cater for patients is available.
Although not committing to when the hospital will open, Dr Dube said: “I do not foresee us going over a month in view of the threat of the third wave. I think this is the ideal time for us to prepare so that we also participate during the third wave”. — @themkhust
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