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Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT is frantically working on facilitating the return of Chinese contractors involved in the implementation of several key developmental projects in Matabeleland North Province as part of efforts to expedite their completion in line with President Mnangagwa’s devolution thrust.

Notable projects include the construction of Lupane Provincial Hospital, Gwayi-Shangani Dam project, a critical component towards solving water challenges in the province and the completion of Elitsheni Government Complex, which will pave way for relocation of public workers who are still operating from Bulawayo.

Others are the Hwange Thermal Power Station Units 7 and 8 expansion project. The project will cost $1,5 billion and is expected to deliver an additional 600 megawatts; 300W from each unit, on top of the average of 920MW the old power station generates.

President Mnangagwa commissioned the expansion project two years ago and it is set for completion in 2022.

The first phase of the construction of Lupane Provincial Hospital was expected to be completed this year.

However, due to Covid-19, which resulted in many countries closing their borders and imposing travel restrictions, the contractors who had taken a long Christmas break, ended up failing to return to the country to resume work on the project.

Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Minister Richard Moyo said Government is frantically making efforts to facilitate the contractors’ return from China so that the implementation of the projects kicks off in earnest.

Government is prioritising the projects in Matabeleland North in line with President Mnangagwa’s decentralisation and devolution policy.

The devolution thrust is set to transform the province previously viewed as lagging behind in terms of development despite its vast natural resources.

Minister Moyo said once complete, Lupane Provincial Hospital is expected to serve as a referral health centre for all seven district hospitals in Matabeleland North province. Treasury in its last budgetary allocations set aside $50 million towards construction of the hospital.

“This is a massive project and once it’s operational, it will ease pressure on St Luke’s Hospital in Lupane and locals had to travel to referral hospitals in Bulawayo, which will soon be a thing of the past. We want to speed up the completion of all projects in Matabeleland North and under the Second Republic, we will achieve that feat,” said Minister Moyo.

He said the Matabeleland North Provincial Hospital that had been long envisaged finally took off under the new dispensation and is now 40 percent complete.

He said plans are now at an advanced stage to facilitate the process of bringing back the contractors from China.

“We have been affected by the Covid-19 lockdown otherwise the projects would have been far by now. We wrote to the President for a waiver for contractors involved in projects in the province so that when they pass in quarantine centres in their country, they are put in one plane and sent here so that we continue with work,” he said.

Minister Moyo said the projects were a testimony that the devolution policy has started bearing fruits in Matabeleland North as evidenced by the full implementation of several key economic projects in the province.

“As Government, we had targeted that by end of 2020, the first phase of hospital would have been completed with the out-patients department facilities being functional. However, due to Covid-19, we failed to meet the deadline,” he said.

St Luke’s Mission Hospital is being used as the provincial hospital, with cases being referred to Mpilo Central Hospital or United Bulawayo Hospitals, a move which has a bearing on costs of medical care for patients since they have to meet transport costs too.

Matabeleland North was the only province which did not have a provincial hospital since independence in 1980.

Minister Moyo said work on the long-awaited Elitsheni Government Complex project in Lupane is on course with civil servants’ houses having been completed.

Decentralisation of services to provincial, district or even ward level is an ongoing process under the Government’s devolution drive meant to bring services closer to the people.

In the last few years civil servants in Matabeleland North province had been complaining about delays in completing Government offices and houses in Lupane, which made it impossible for them to relocate. As a result, ordinary people and entrepreneurs from the province were being forced to travel to Bulawayo to seek Government services thereby incurring higher transport costs. The construction of the complex started in 2004 but due to inadequate funding, its completion was delayed.

Lupane Town was granted Matabeleland North provincial capital status in 1999 but the development of the town has been sluggish mainly because of inadequate funding for infrastructural development.

The coming in of fulltime services to Lupane is also expected to result in quicker growth of the settlement into a fully-fledged modern town. Lupane State University has already relocated some of its departments, giving impetus to the growth of the provincial capital.

Minister Moyo said the completion of Government offices was being complemented by other key capital projects across the province such as Gwayi-Shangani Dam, Lupane gas investment and Hwange Thermal Power Station expansion.

On the exploitation of vast gas deposits in Lupane, Minister Moyo said engagements were under way with more companies keen to tap into the opportunity.

“The problem is that some investors come here pretending that they have money to do projects when they don’t. But Government is seriously looking into this project and we have facilitated for many companies, including Chinese investors. We will have progress on this,” he said.

President Mnangagwa recently visited Hwange and toured coal mining and power generation projects, which are being implemented in fulfillment of his promise to ensure realisation of the province’s full economic potential.-@mashnets