Ekusileni gets $7 million boost

24 May, 2020 - 00:05 0 Views
Ekusileni gets $7 million boost Mr Nick Mangwana

The Sunday News

Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Reporter
THE Government has released $7 million towards the rehabilitation of Ekusileni Medical Centre in Bulawayo to turn it into a national coronavirus isolation centre.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Mr Nick Mangwana told Sunday News that the money was part of Government’s support towards the re-opening of the hospital.

He revealed that Treasury will be releasing funding for the hospital in tranches until the final figure of $72 million which is required for the hospital’s re-opening.

“The hospital has said they require $72 million for it to complete its renovations, so the $7 million is part of Government’s assistance, of which Treasury will be releasing more funding in tranches to get to the overall figure that is required. Government is fully committed towards the re-opening of Ekusileni as a National Isolation Centre as is evident by the release of this initial $7 million, we will continue engaging the hospital’s authorities to see to it that we meet the required mandate of re-opening the facility,” said Mr Mangwana.

He paid tribute to volunteers who are offering unpaid work cleaning the premises noting that the united approach being shown towards efforts to re-open the facility was humbling. Commenting on the funding, Minister of State for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Cde Judith Ncube said the money will go a long way in ensuring that the hospital is re-opened.

She said Government was grateful to other stakeholders led by the IAM4BYO-Fighting Covid-19 initiative that was working round the clock to get all the necessary resources towards the hospital.

“Government is indeed committed towards the re-opening of the hospital, which is evident by the release of this initial $7 million. This might seem an outcry from the $72 million which is required but I am sure Treasury will be releasing more funds towards this initiative in the coming few weeks.

“I am further humbled by the donations that are being made by various individuals in the region, which has shown that as a community we are slowly adopting a sense of ownership for our institutions, we have moved from an attitude where we wait for the Government to do everything for us which is highly commendable,” said Minister Ncube.

The hospital has experienced a number of false starts and numerous efforts to re-open the institution whose building is owned by the National Social Security Company (Nssa) have failed.

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