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Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Reporter
REHABILITATION work to facilitate the reopening of Ekusileni Hospital in Bulawayo as a national Covid-19 isolation centre are now over 50 percent complete, an official has said.
The hospital, a brainchild of late Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo, has experienced a number of false starts and numerous efforts to re-open the institution whose building is owned by the National Social Security Company have failed.
The hospital was opened in 2001 and closed in 2004 because it had outdated equipment. A couple of months ago, however, there was hope that the institution would be re-opened after the Government identified the centre as one of the institutions that was earmarked to house cases of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in the city.
When it was initially reopened in 2001, the hospital operated briefly and was shut down after it was discovered that the acquired equipment, worth millions of dollars, was obsolete.
This year, government announced its intentions to reopen the hospital as a Covid-19 isolation centre.
It was also announced that the hospital will also be transformed into a specialist teaching research hospital under the National University of Science and Technology (Nust), with the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) tasked with operationalizing the facility.
In an interview on the sidelines of a donation of 100 mattresses from the Bulawayo Hindu community and bed side accessories from the IAM4BYO-Fighting Covid-19 initiative on Thursday, Ekusileni hospital acting chief executive officer Dr Absalom Dube said they were making considerable progress to ensure that the hospital is ready to admit its first patients.
The hospital, upon opening, is earmarked to cater for critical Covid-19 cases.
Dr Dube said while he could not commit to the actual date of opening, only a few structural works were pending.
“As it stands, we are just awaiting treasury to release funds that will enable us to complete the few structural work that is pending but we can say we are just over 50 percent complete with the required works.
“We have had the ambulance wash bay constructed, the partitioning is done, boreholes have been sunk and further government has unfrozen 95 positions which will mean by the time everything is complete we will be good to go,” said Dr Dube.
He paid gratitude to the private sector which had come on board by making various donations to ensure that hospital eventual opens.
“Non-state actors like the IAM4BYO-Fighting Covid-19 initiative and the Hindu community who made the donations today (Thursday) are among the many who have really come on board to see that this hospital finally reopens.
“Further, through my engagements with government I understand that treasury will soon be releasing the funds that funds that we requested meaning we will be able to work on all the pending works,” said Dr Dube.
Meanwhile, in acknowledging the donations by the Hindu Community and the IAM4BYO-Fighting COVID-19 initiative, Bulawayo Metropolitan Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister, Mrs Judith Ncube said it was humbling that the community was realizing the need to work together so as to fight the common enemy- Covid-19.
“We are moving in the right direction as people of Bulawayo and Zimbabwe. We have realised the need to compliment each other right from the smallest unit, it is not for the government to do it alone.
“I am especially overwhelmed that people are seemingly coming forward, let’s keep this spirit going forward. Further, the number of Coronavirus cases in the country are increasing by the day therefore we need to be ready, we need to do our level best to ensure that this institution eventually opens,” said Minister Ncube.
Bongani Ndlovu