When bridge of hope collapses

Beaven Dhliwayo Features Writer
The Karanda Bridge deck, which was under construction on Ruya River, had raised hope for patients from across the country as it would provide easy access to Karanda Mission Hospital.

Most hospitals had stopped giving basic healthcare in their catchment areas owing to the paralysing strike by doctors, and Karanda Mission Hopsital has been one of the few sources of hope for many families.

The mission hospital, situated in Mashonaland Central Province, is popular for its excellent service delivery that has attracted patients from across the country.

But getting there is really a challenge.

It is against this background that the Government, through the District Development Fund (DDF), decided to construct Karanda Bridge to ease the challenges of patients trying to cross Ruya River to reach the hospital.

Although Karanda Mission Hospital has just 150 beds, many Zimbabweans and those from the region were happy that at last their challenge of getting to the hospital from across Ruya River had been addressed.

The 160-metre-long bridge was 95 percent complete and expected to be commissioned by Christmas Day.

District Development Coordinator for Mt Darwin, Mr Maxwell Mabhuro, said DDF was supposed to use expert engineers for a project of that magnitude.

“It has emerged that DDF has not been using any engineering designs for construction, and no engineer has been engaged to assist DDF artisans at the site, rendering the project of such magnitude and importance dangerous to users and wasting Government scarce resources,” he said.

“DDF has no engineer and there are no designs for the bridge. They are using experienced old guys who pilfer materials from time-to-time for a project of such a magnitude and national importance.”

Another source privy to the work on the ground said although the steel used for the construction of the bridge met the required standards, the concrete was not cured enough, resulting in the  collapse.

The bridge was supposed to be one of the country’s 100-day project cycle success stories as work started in October last year and in a year’s time the $5,1 million bridge was set to ease transport woes for patients travelling to Karanda Mission Hospital.

The allegations raised by Mr Mabhuro are serious and have to be addressed because the money wasted belongs to the people – the taxpayers.

With the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Government must employ new and innovative tools that can be crucial in protecting taxpayers’ money and save millions of dollars at all levels.

Most importantly, to win this battle, there is need for transparency.

By leveraging innovative technology platforms, Government will enhance its ability to protect taxpayers’ money.

Transparency is the only tool that will make the Government hold contractors accountable, as well as provide its citizens with assurances that their money is being spent responsibly and not lost to fraud, waste and abuse.

Going forward, when a company accepts a Government contract to provide services for its citizens — whether that is to build a bridge, construct a hospital, procure equipment or provide legal counsel — it is their responsibility to undertake that work in a responsible and lawful  manner.

The people out there look upon the Government to work closely with its contractors and make sure that their hard-earned money is used productively.

Historically, Government contractors took advantage of situations like this because they knew that they will in fact not be held accountable – often because they know the technology better than the Government agencies and apply it more effectively.

Fortunately, with advanced solutions those days are over.

With the crop of youthful techno-savvy people in the country, simple software programmes and other technologies can be created and make Government independently verify computer-based work done by its contractors and ensure public funds are not being wasted or lost through fraud or abuse.

It is now important for Government to inspect the whole project and see if it’s fit to be used, as this may be costly to the lives of the people who will use the bridge to reach Karanda.

As is the norm, a bridge is named after the river where it is constructed, but because of the importance of the mission hospital, the bridge was named after the hospital.