Online Reporter
Kundai Moyo, Midlands Correspondent
IN the true sense of President Mnangagwa’s philosophy “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabaninilo”, villagers from Nkayi District under Chief Madliwa have started pooling resources towards the construction of a new clinic, which is expected to ease primary healthcare access challenges.
The construction of Ngomambi Clinic in Ward 5 under Chief Madliwa has since started with the digging of the foundation and moulding of bricks, having already commenced.
When complete, the US$54 000 Clinic is expected to bring relief to more than 980 households and 5 450 people in the community, including Sibangilizwe, Nkabe, Gezekhaya, Gobhi and Sibhalwa villages whose people travel more than 20km to access health care.
Apart from the clinic structure, the facility will also have a solar-powered borehole to ensure a constant water supply.
Locals based in the Diaspora have taken a leading role in mobilising financial resources, while community members are playing a part, with some supplying labour, river-sand, and pit-sand, among others.
To ensure a smooth flow of the project, a committee made up of all key stakeholders has since been formulated to oversee the construction works.
Speaking on behalf of the committee, Mr Mlamlankunzi Nkomo said the decision was driven largely by people who were travelling long distances to access healthcare, with some failing to make it on time.
“As recent as April 2025, a villager from Nkabe Village visited a clinic across the Tshangani River; however, on his way back, he never reached home and his lifeless body was found after five days of searching in a swampy area near the river,” he said.
“This further highlighted the need for a clinic that’s reachable without having to navigate such treacherous terrain.
We, therefore, resolved to establish for ourselves and future generations the basic infrastructure development within our communities.
“We embarked upon this journey together, fuelled by the desire to make our communities a better place to live in, recognising our joint commitment to develop our communities. We thereby pledged our small resources to the advancement and development of our communities and the society at large,” he said.
Mr Nkomo said all necessary preliminary works have since been completed and the construction of the health facility is expected to be completed in the shortest possible period.
“As we speak, the community members, through collective action, have already started working on the site. They have cleared the area, provided cement, river sand and are in the final stages of brick moulding,” he said.
“They have also started gathering resources to construct ablution facilities as per recommendations of the Ministry of Health and Childcare. The community has created crowdfunding for the project to reach out to other communities in the diaspora to chip in with funding for the project.
“The committee also engages other infrastructural developmental players like non-governmental organisations and the Government for support to finish the project quicker.”
Other members based in the diaspora who are committee members include Sithandiwe Ncube Nkomo, Nozibusiso Moyo, Nothando Nkomo and Shephard Mupfudze.
Mr Mupfudze said he was elated to be taking part in this philanthropic duty.
“In times like these, it’s pertinent that humanity demonstrates its true nature of love, kindness, empathy and compassion through contribution towards mobilisation of resources, which can be channelled towards the construction of the Ngomambi Clinic,” he said.
“It’s something fulfilling to be working towards the construction of the clinic.”
Chief Khulani Madliwa said the new clinic project was a huge relief to the community.
“This initiative is coming as a huge relief to the communities because some of the people are having to travel more than 20km to access healthcare,” he said.
“To make it worse, most of them have to cross the Gweru and Tshangani Rivers, which is very dangerous on its own. We really applaud those behind the project and hope it will be completed in no time.”
Chief Madliwa said he was fully behind the initiative, which is in line with the Government’s philosophy of building our own communities.
“Our Government is emphasising that us building our own community and this is exactly what is happening. We are backing this project fully and encourage every community member to play their part in ensuring that the clinic is completed in no time,” he said.
