Legislator calls for urgent completion of highway clinic

BEITBRIDGE West legislator, Honourable Thusani Ndou, has engaged the local rural district council and officials from the Ministry of Health and Child Care to urgently complete the outstanding works and speed up the opening of Mazunga Clinic located at the 60km peg along the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Highway.

The clinic will service communities around resettlement areas in Ward 14, motorists using the highway, Tshionzeni, Musane, Mapani, Mabidi, Masera and Zhovhe area.

Working closely with the Beitbridge Rural District Council and some business leaders, communities have already put together resources and converted a former farmhouse into a clinic.

The opening of the facility is expected to ease the plight of locals and travellers when seeking medical attention with some walking nearly 15 km to the nearest health centre.

According to WHO standards, people should not walk for more than eight kilometres to access primary healthcare facilities.

In an interview, Honourable Ndou said the opening of Mazunga Clinic was long overdue.

“The clinic should be opened without further delays to improve the quality of primary health care in that area. To ensure things are moving, this week we had a tour of the structure and engaged the local rural district development committee members and the Beitbridge Rural District Council chief executive officer, Mr Peter Moyo,” said Honourable Ndou.

“It’s pleasing to note that some ground has been covered in terms of civil works, the team is now working on final touches pending further inspections by the Ministry of Health and Child Care staff.

“If all tiers of development work together with the same vision and spirit, we will get the clinic working soon. This clinic will be of great service to Ward 14 and its catchment areas, including road users between Beitbridge and Gwanda.”

Speaking recently, clinic committee chairperson, Mr Alfred Makhomo Moyo said the community modified the farm house into a health facility after noticing a gap in terms of public health service delivery in the area, which is predominantly a farming zone and located along the major highway.

He said they decided to pool resources and approached the local RDC council and businessmen resulting in the project taking off.

“We have since received medical equipment from well-wishers for use upon the completion of the project,” he said.

The medical facility has a maternity wing to accommodate more than 12 women at a time, a pharmacy, a mothers’ waiting shelter and an environmental health section.

Other sections include the general out-patients department, male and female wards and a standard emergency room, among other accessories.

The district has an estimated population of 250 000 with two-thirds of the people resident in its rural component and relies on one referral hospital, 17 clinics and several private surgeries.

The 140-bed hospital is also strained with a 15 000 daily transit population, which uses the border to access the country or South Africa.