adminFairness Moyana Sunday
VILLAGERS in Simangani and Mashala wards in Hwange District are crying foul over the alleged abuse by Hwange Rural District Council of an ambulance that was donated to them by Coalbrick Mine in 2013 during the launch of the Community Share Ownership Schemes around the country.
According to villagers, who spoke to Sunday News, since the donation of the vehicle, a Toyota Elgrand, a majority of them had not even seen the vehicle which was pledged following calls for companies to plough back into communities in which they got their profits through the exploitation of local resources.
Following the death of a villager, Mr Gilbert Mapeta, an epileptic who collapsed at Mwemba Clinic before he died while waiting for transport to hospital last week, villagers now want to what happened to their ambulance.
“We want to know what happened to our ambulance which was donated to us by Coalbrick Mine which we have never used since it was given to us. In fact, many people here don’t know about it because no official ceremony was done to hand it over. We hear that it is with the RDC (Hwange Rural District Council) and is being used for their business,” said Mr Lawrence Ndlovu from Simangani.
Another villager, Mr Richard Dube from Mashala, said the failure by Coalbrick Mine management to properly handover the vehicle has led to its abuse.
He revealed that the vehicle was initially brought to authorities at Mwemba Clinic, then under the supervision of a Sister Nekwati who has since transferred to Songwa Clinic, where it was agreed that it should undergo inspection before approval to work as an emergency vehicle.
“The vehicle passed its test to be an ambulance, interestingly it never came back again as we started to hear rumours that it had been taken by officials from the RDC. Since then it has never set its wheels here nor carried out its purpose of serving the people of Mashala and Simangani wards. We are very saddened by this and call upon relevant authorities to intervene. Does it mean that we are not entitled to an ambulance while other areas are well supported?” said an emotional Mr Dube.
Simangani village head Mr Raphael Nyoni, who was then acting Chief Whange, said he only became aware of the existence of an ambulance recently when one of his subjects came to ask about it following the death of the 50-year-old man.
“I only got to know about the ambulance issue recently when one villager mentioned it in passing, saying had it been available it would have saved the life of a fellow villager who collapsed and died while working with others to build a maternity ward at Mwemba Clinic. I don’t believe there was an official hand-over of the vehicle and even when I was acting chief I never received such information,” said Mr Nyoni.
Mr Nyoni said he would engage Chief Whange on the matter as many deaths that were taking place in the area could be avoided but lack of an emergency vehicle was working against villagers as it costs more than $70 to call an ambulance from Hwange Colliery Hospital.
“We are trapped between a rock and a hard place. Many deaths that are taking place in our area are due to delays in seeking medical assistance but if we had an ambulance like in other areas then we would reduce such unnecessary deaths,” he said.
Some clinics in the district such as Lukosi, Makwandara, Soongwa, Lupote, Jambezi, Mabale and Dete have ambulances donated by organisations such as Painted Dog Conservation and COSV, thereby ensuring a rapid response in emergency situations.
The councillor for Mashala Ward, Ames Phiri, said he had heard of the donation of the ambulance but could not be drawn to shed light as he “had heard the issue in passing while preparing for elections”.
Investigations by this paper revealed that the vehicle was being used by Hwange Rural District Council as a utility vehicle carrying tomatoes and groceries or doing other council business.
When a Sunday News crew visited HRDC offices in Lukosi on Wednesday last week, the vehicle which looked rundown was parked in the car park.
The chief executive officer, Mr Phindile Ncube, rubbished the claims that the vehicle belonged to the community, arguing that it was given to the authority to settle a debt owed by CoalBrick while the community’s vehicle had been given to Victoria Falls Hospital.
“Those claims are outrageous, the vehicle you are talking about was given to the RDC as part of payment for a debt it owed the authority. The fact that it is written ‘community share ownership scheme’ was a political stunt by the company at the height of the launch of the community share ownership schemes. The ambulance that was originally donated by the company was given to Victoria Falls Municipality,” Mr Ncube said.
Mr Ncube, who is also the secretary of the Hwange Share Ownership Scheme, said the scheme did not have money in its coffers as the mining companies had not honoured their pledges.
“No cent has been deposited yet into the scheme’s account by the companies and if there was any money a board would have to agree on any proposed developmental project such as the purchase of an ambulance. In any case, if there is a donation for the community it is handed over to the local authority in which the beneficiary community falls. But of course that was not the case with this one,” he added.
“I would expect that these communities table such concerns using the development structures within their areas. This would enable them to engage council on their particular need, in this case an ambulance so resources can be mobilised instead of just crying foul.”
CoalBrick Mine operations director Mr Tonderai Matsekwa confirmed the donation of the two ambulances while dismissing claims that one of the vehicles was given to the council to offset a debt.
“Yes we donated two vehicles which we wanted the community to use as ambulances. None of the vehicles was meant to offset any debts because we did not owe them anything. We gave the vehicles to the communities where we work in as part of developing the area. I cannot comment on why the vehicle is being used by RDC. Maybe assuming that it’s a local authority in which this community falls in so it maybe for administration purposes,” he said.
Online Reporter