Mimosa Mining Company in Zvishavane has spent US$4,1 million on refurbishing and upgrading Mberengwa District Hospital and the project took over five years to complete. The upgraded hospital which had a capacity of just 20 beds, now has 104 beds.
The District Hospital which is a referral hospital for 31 rural health centres and serving more than 200 000 people, now has a modern maternity wing, an operating theatre and refurbished wards among other modern facilities.
The water and power supplies have also been improved hence the institution is now providing quality healthcare services to the people of Mberengwa and surrounding communities. The new look hospital was commissioned on Friday by Vice President Kembo who commended Mimosa
Mining Company for investing in the people’s welfare. Vice President Mohadi urged other companies to emulate Mimosa which he said had invested in critical public health infrastructure.
Mimosa Mining Company has over the years invested in a public institutions in both Zvishavane and Mberengwa districts where it is mining platinum. One of the outstanding projects is a- state of- the- art primary school constructed near the mine which is benefiting pupils from nearby resettlement areas whose classrooms used to be pole and dagga structures.
The Mine has provided funding for construction and refurbishment of several primary and secondary schools in and around Zvishavane and Mberengwa districts under its Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) programme. It has also built a girls hostel block at Zvishavane Vocational Training Centre.
The people of Zvishavane and Mberengwa districts are therefore directly benefiting from the exploitation of their minerals and this is as it should be. Cde Mohadi said mining companies should contribute to the socio-economic development of surrounding communities through investments in health care, education, vocational training, water and sanitation and infrastructure development.
The upgraded Mberengwa District Hospital now has the capacity to respond to medical emergencies which means the people from the district no longer travel outside the district to seek such services.
We totally agree with VP Mohadi that corporate social investment should not be viewed as an afterthought but should be part of responsible business practice. Companies have an obligation to plough back to communities whose resources they are exploiting so that people benefit from their resources.
The communities must enjoy improved livelihoods as a result of companies investing in infrastructure development such as building hospitals or schools as what Mimosa is doing, constructing roads, bridges and other such infrastructure. We want at this juncture to applaud companies that have over the years invested in the improvement of their communities’ livelihoods and urge those that are yet to do so to come on board. Exploiting communities’ resources without investing in their welfare is unacceptable and should be frowned upon.
