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Cde Tshinga Dube

Auxilia Katongomara Chronicle Reporter
A HEALTH committee from Makokoba suburb in Bulawayo tasked by the area’s legislator Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube to tour Mpilo Hospital was yesterday barred from its mission by hospital executives.

The hospital officials said the committee had failed to notify the institution about their intended visit. The committee is among several set up by Rtd Col Dube to assess challenges and foster development in Makokoba.

His aide, Nothiwani Dlodlo, who was leading the committee, said the hospital was preventing the legislator from exercising his constitutional right. “What they have done to us is unprofessional, it’s like they are barring the MP from knowing what is happening in his constituency,” fumed Dlodlo.

“He’s not coming here as deputy minister of War veterans but as Member of Parliament for the area, it’s his constitutional right”.

He accused the hospital management of trying to cover up the rot at the health institution.

“We’ve heard that there are doctors who refer patients to private surgeries for operations, when they go there they pay but the operations are done here at the expense of Mpilo Hospital.

“We have heard a number of issues and we wanted to verify them ourselves by coming here rather than listening to the grapevine,” said Dlodlo.

He said the hospital’s acting chief executive officer Leonard Mabhandi told them that Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa had instructed them to stop the tour.

The team had requested to visit A1, out patients, Room 8, C1, B1, Cancer centre, Buying unit and X-ray departments.

The tour by the committee comes ahead of a constituency health meeting to be held at McDonald Hall on Saturday.

Reached for comment, Mabhandi said the tour had been postponed.

“The tour has been deferred due to a communication challenge between the two parties,” he said.

Last month, Rtd Col Dube opened a constituency office where several committees were set up to look at areas needing attention in Makokoba.

The legislator recently exposed the rot at the United College of Education (UCE) where he fingered ministers, top government officials and Zanu-PF members as among those taking part in unprocedural enrolment of teachers at the institution.

Rtd Col Dube said the bigwigs allegedly use their positions to force the institution to enrol their preferred candidates who are made to pay between $350 and $500 to corrupt officials.

He said authorities at UCE were afraid to come out in the open for fear of reprisals, but have since told him of the interference.

The government has said it will investigate and act on corruption claims levelled against some ministers, senior government and Zanu-PF officials in the enrolment of students at UCE.