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Paidamoyo Chipunza Harare Bureau
President Mugabe yesterday paid tribute to a team of over 50 professionals who successfully performed a delicate operation to separate conjoined twins last Tuesday at Harare Children’s Hospital, saying they did the country proud and deserved to be honoured.
Speaking after visiting the Murehwa twin boys, Kupakwashe and Tapiwanashe Chitiyo at the hospital, President Mugabe also said the government was wholly Zanu-PF and he saw nothing that could stop it from implementing policies that were pro-people.

“I must say I am overwhelmed, so overwhelmed that I cannot express the sensitivity of it all,” he said.

President Mugabe said he could not believe the news when he heard that a team of entirely local doctors had successfully separated conjoined twins here in Zimbabwe despite the sanctions-induced challenges the health system was facing.

“I said what! We? Zimbabweans? We Zimbabweans struggling under the burden of sanctions, despised in circles of Europe, America – how could we ever have done that? Immense difficulties, vast, vast areas of challenges – where did these doctors really get their learning from?

“Did they really manage to do it? I didn’t believe it, but there it was, the truth of it and I said I must go see this mystery which has happened and see the people who have done it. So I came, I have seen and I am overwhelmed. I say to you congratulations.

Congratulations the entire team,” he said.

He also chronicled some of the challenges the health sector went through ranging from inability to replenish stocks of medical supplies to a decaying system as a result of sanctions yet the country kept going.

President Mugabe said in some areas of the world, Zimbabwe was a tarnished and despised country and the doctors did the country proud.

“You have done not just yourselves proud but also the nation proud. You have raised our name higher, higher from the level where it was,” he said.

President Mugabe lamented the freezing of all government posts, a situation that has affected thousands of nurses who are stranded. All posts were frozen during the inclusive Government’s five-year stint by the then Finance Minister Tendai Biti of the MDC-T.

Said President Mugabe; “Why did we train them. I was saying why did we train the people at all. These claims that we do not have the money is what we are refusing. We were talking about it the other day that we should not freeze any posts in health. Look at the country as a whole, the need that we have across the country for health, proper health facilities for healthcare to get to each and every village – then we say we have no money to employ health staff. We cannot say that because the money is there in the form of our mineral wealth.

We need to get the money from our minerals,” he said.

President Mugabe who was accompanied by the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe, said there were other things that the Zanu-PF government could not do for its people because of the Inclusive Government.

“There were some things we could not do because of the Inclusive Government. Now that the Inclusive Government is gone we have a government of Zanu- PF  which has Zanu-PF policies meant to address the people’s interests, to improve  the people’s welfare so health, education, social services cannot be understaffed yet trained people are there. We train them and yet we want to freeze them, that is not acceptable,” said President Mugabe.

He said the success of the Siamese twins operation necessitated the greater need to review the job freeze policy. “There will be greater now, greater desire for more to be done in the area of health. If our doctors can do this aah, let us ensure that we do more, let’s ensure that we give them greater capacity, we create greater capacity and supply more equipment, but of course also remunerate them well,” he said.

President Mugabe said the national budget should take into account the need to equip health institutions with the necessary machinery to enable professionals to do their work.

Speaking at the same occasion, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa, said government was looking forward to transforming Harare Children’s Hospital into a regional referral centre.

He said the recent operation of Siamese twins bore testimony to the fact that the country’s health delivery system was returning to its former state of the 80s.

“Our health delivery system is returning to its 1980s state where Zimbabwe was a beacon. Our professionals are helping us to return to this shining beacon,” said Dr Parirenyatwa. He said government was committed to ensuring that the five main pillars of health namely; human resources, infrastructure, transport and communication, finance and disease burden were adequately addressed.

Meanwhile, the First Family donated baby products to the Chitiyo boys. These included baby soap, washing soap, baby cream, baby oil, disposable nappies, bathing towels, towelling nappies, blankets, baby formula and an assortment of clothing.