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The 200-bed Ekusileni Medical Centre in Bulawayo built at a cost of about $4 million has remained a white elephant for years. Construction of the Medical Centre which was funded by the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), was completed in 2001. 

Many dates have been given for the re-opening of this state-of- the-art medical facility which operated for just seven months before it was closed in 2004 after it was discovered that the acquired equipment worth millions of dollars, was obsolete. 

Early this year Government identified Sharda Group of Institutions (SGI) an Indian investor as its partner to re-open the medical facility. 

Finance and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube said last week that Government was considering changing the Medical Centre to a cancer referral medical facility.

Speaking during the 2019 pre-budget seminar in Victoria Falls, Prof Ncube appealed for Parliament’s indulgency to allocate funds to re-open the hospital. “Non-communicable diseases particularly cancer are a big issue and therefore my plea is, allow me to put a budget for Ekusileni Medical Centre in Bulawayo so it can become a cancer referral hospital for our country,” said Prof Ncube. 

The Hospital is the brainchild of the late Vice President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo who was against Zimbabweans seeking specialist services outside the country.  Zimbabweans, particularly residents of Bulawayo, have lost hope of the hospital ever re-opening. 

It is therefore incumbent upon Prof Ncube to fulfil his pledge to allocate money for the reopening of this hospital in next year’s national budget.  The Medical Centre is meant to serve not only the country but the entire Southern African region.

The hospital was among projects on the Government’s 100-day programme and no explanation has been given for the delay in mobilising resources for its reopening. 

We therefore want to once again appeal to Government to prioritise the reopening of this hospital. Zimbabweans are forced to seek specialist medical services outside the country and the re-opening of the hospital will drastically reduce the number of people seeking such services outside the country. 

Many Zimbabweans seek specialist treatment in countries such as South Africa, India and Russia but some of the specialist doctors working in these countries are Zimbabweans. This is a confirmation that Zimbabwe has the required expertise and NSSA has provided the required infrastructure through Ekusileni Hospital which local specialists could ride on. 

Everything is set for the hospital to be operational and what is only needed is capital to buy the required equipment. The hospital has running water and electricity. 

Public funds were used to construct this hospital and this public investment cannot be allowed to go to waste.