adminAlbert Chavhunduka Harare Bureau
THE opening of the multi-million dollar Ekusileni Medical Centre in Bulawayo is uncertain because of ownership wrangles between the Zimbabwe Health Care Trust (ZHCT) and the National Social Security Authority. EMC was initiated as a joint venture between ZHCT and NETCARE while NSSA and the Mining Industry Pension Fund became partners after providing funds for development.
Giving oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care in Harare last week, ZHCT founding trustee Dr Athanasius Dube denied NSSA’s claim that it solely owned the centre.
“The contribution in financial terms to the current shell was from NSSA and the building is now 75 percent complete, this was just financial contribution. The rest of the contributions going forward were from us,” said Dr Dube.
“The building went to a certain stage where we are taking it from now. NSSA partly paid the money that put up that structure.We did the designs. We did the supervisions and we were the promoters of the project.”
Dr Dube conceded that ZHCT was yet to contribute financially to the project.
“As we went through the building there was an amount in American dollars for the design which is still outstanding and which we now agreed to pay. We then agreed to complete the structure in line with the medical requirements which is what we are now going to do,” he said.
Dr Dube denied the allegations that EMC bought substandard equipment that the government condemned.
“We got equipment which was sorted by experts and we put in use what was supposed to be used, and regulators came to inspect and they allowed us to do surgery in line with the law. It was donated equipment, some new and some old, but when it was sorted the old one was sent back and we did not use it,” he said.
Dr Dube insisted that EMC would open this year.
“It is certainly going to open this year but I can not give you a date but it is being handed over to management. There was a delay of three weeks when NSSA was checking the figures of what was required to be spent for the right reasons because they did not want to be diluted in their shareholding,” he said.
The 200-bed medical centre was built in honour of late Vice-President Dr Joshua Nkomo.
Online Reporter