Ekusileni Hospital renovations complete

Mpumelelo Nyoni Chronicle Reporter
RENOVATIONS at Ekusileni Medical Centre in Bulawayo have been completed with South African-based healthcare company, Phodiso set to manage the medical centre, the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Cde Nicholas Goche, said yesterday.He said inspections by his ministry as well as from a medical team would be conducted once new state of the art medical machinery is delivered to the 200-bed medical centre.

“I can confirm that renovations at Ekusileni Medical Centre have been completed. Once state-of-the-art medical equipment is delivered, it will be inspected by a team from my ministry as well as a medical team from the Ministry of Health and Child Care,” said Cde Goche.

He said a series of meetings were recently held between his ministry and the National Social Security Association (NSSA) management where NSSA was given sole caretakership of the medical centre before Phodiso takes over management of the facility.

“Ekusileni is no longer in our hands. On our part, we’ve completed our assignment and NSSA has taken over,” said Cde Goche.

He lamented the decade-long neglect of the medical centre, saying fulfilling Dr Joshua Nkomo’s legacy was important.

Cde Goche could not reveal the actual date of the official opening of the medical centre, referring all questions to NSSA general manager, James Matiza.

Questions sent to NSSA management via e-mail had not been responded to at the time of going to Press.

The hospital was briefly opened in 2004 but closed after realisation that the equipment acquired by the institution and worth millions of dollars was obsolete despite millions having been invested by NSSA into the hospital.

In July, parliament booted out a team of medical practitioners led by Dr Daud Dube who initiated the project, after failing to honour agreements made to develop it.

The medical centre, which was built at a cost of about $4 million in 2000, will have 13 departments when fully operational and has the potential to increase its capacity to 265 beds.