A lot has been said about the tragic events surrounding the late
Zororo Makamba’s death but, sadly, most of it has been the usual static noise. So
when I heard something coherent, a diamond amongst the stone, I was ecstatic!
"Minister of Health and Child Care, Obadiah Moyo must take
responsibility for the demise of Zororo Makamba and account to the Makamba
family and the nation. We also demand that the Minister comes clean on the
state of preparedness and response by the government on COVID-19," the
Zimbabwe Doctors for Human Rights (ZDHR) posted in their Social Media account.
I would like to applaud the ZDHR for hitting the nail on the
head! The sheer incompetence with which our political leaders have handled the
corona virus pandemic is unforgivable more so because the nation will pay
dearly for it – with lost treasure, human suffering and human lives!
The nation was assured that Wilkins Hospital was equipped to
deal with the corona virus patients. Zororo Makamba was the first patient to be
admitted there and the nation was shocked to discover just how ill-equipped the
hospital was.
Zororo was offered a bed and nothing else!
“His doctor made it clear
earlier on that he had to be on a ventilator because he could not breathe.
However, when we got at Wilkins Hospital there was no ventilator, no medication
and even the oxygen would run out and they had to get it from the City of
Harare,” said Tawanda Makamba in a statement.
“After that we ran around to
find a ventilator for him and we managed to get a portable ventilator from a
family friend who had a relative who used the ventilator before he died.
“We then brought the ventilator
on Sunday by 2pm and when we got here, because the portable ventilator had an
American plug, they told us to get an adapter because they only had round
sockets at the hospital. I then rushed to buy an adapter and came back and they
never used it and when I asked why they were not using the ventilator they said
they had no sockets in his room.
“So, they didn’t have
medication, ventilators and we brought them a ventilator and they didn’t have
sockets in his room. I told them that I had an extension cord and pleaded with
them to use the cord, but they refused.”
This was not all; there was no
running clean water and the patient was expected to use a bucket for a toilet!
It should be noted that just a
few days before Zororo was admitted, President Mnangagwa launched the Zimbabwe’s Coronavirus National Preparedness and
Response Plan with the usual fanfare and glitz. UN and WHO representative
attended the launch. And now it turns out that very specialist hospital at the
heart of the plan did not have power sockets for ventilators and other
monitoring equipment, no running water, no proper toilet facilities, no
protective clothing for staff (one staff member who attended Makamba has
reportedly contracted the virus), etc.!
Surely, we do
not need international donors to help us install a water tank, toilet
facilities, etc. But in Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe, it is clear we do!
It just so happened that Nelson Chamisa,
leader of the main Opposition MDC A, the party responsible for Council run Wilkins
Hospital, visited the hospital a few days before Zororo Makamba was admitted.
The MDC A leaders gave his thumbs up approval!
“I visited Wilkins hospital. So encouraging
to see how the City of HARARE leaders & staff are working to enhance
training, capacity and preparedness in dealing with COVID-19. I was taken
through the processes. We must all do our best to be fight this pandemic,”
tweeted Chamisa.
So, what exactly did Chamisa find so “encouraging”!!!
It is heartening that some Zimbabweans are
now openly advocating that we hold to account our corrupt and incompetent opposition,
Minister Moyo, President Mnangagwa and the whole Zanu PF cabal. The call is a
good start, even though it is long overdue, but given the seriousness of the
corona virus, holding them to account will not suffice. We must do more!
The corona virus pandemic is going to claim
many, many more Zimbabwean lives beside Zororo Makamba. Two notable things can
be said about the death toll:
- · The per capita death rate in Zimbabwe will be hundreds of times
higher than that in developed countries. Whereas the latter nations had prosperous
economies and robust health systems to deal with the pandemic Zimbabwe’s at
economy was in a total mess and the health service was barely functioning and
the pandemic was the coup the grace.
- · The failure to supply clean running water and hygienic sanitation
will account for 30% plus of Zimbabwe’s corona virus death toll. There is no
excuse why anyone should drink from a shallow well or worse in this day and
age! And it will not take much to make the local clinic and hospital water tank
has water!
Zimbabweans must take charge of their own and
the nation’s destiny, since both Zanu PF and MDC have failed to ensure there is
clean running water and hygienic sanitation, the people must take over and get
these done.
Zimbabwe’s political system is not only dysfunctional,
it has clearly failed to deliver the people’s basic economic and political needs.
Worst of all, it is oppressive in that the people are powerless to remove the
corrupt and incompetent leaders and are so helpless they cannot do anything to alleviate
their suffering and even deaths.
So if the people of Zimbabwe can successful
deliver clean running water and hygienic sanitary conditions were both Zanu PF
and MDC have failed for the last 40 years it will be the single most important
self-empowering act in the nation’s history.
Besides, 30% or so lives people will save by
making sure there is clean running water and hygienic sanitation will be their
own!
The private sector has donated a US$30 000 ventilator to Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital to mitigate the effects of Covid-19, which has so far claimed one person in Zimbabwe.
ReplyDeleteThis comes at a time when the US$100 000 renovation and upgrading of Wilkins Infectious Diseases Hospital funded by Chinese firms through their embassy is almost complete.
How is it possible that the country found itself in this situation with a corona virus patient and yet no ventilator, no oxygen, no protective gear for staff, no power socket, no toilet except a bucket and no running water? And meanwhile the country's ruling elite from both sides of the political divide have palatial mansions from the 25 roomed mansion with bullet proof windows for Kasukuwere to the stately Blue Roof for Mugabe and even Morgan Tsvangirai got his US$4 million mansion!
In 2012 Mugabe went to the Far East for an eye check-up no fewer than 8 times @ US$3 million.
If we are serious about getting Zimbabwe back on track then we must first end the Zanu PF dictatorship which is the main reason why the country has its priorities all wrong! It is naive to expect Zanu PF and their MDC acolytes to reform this failed political system!
“Out of the US$6,7 million, which we requested for Covid -19 response, we were only given $100 000, which is yet to reflect in our account. We were given an unfunded mandate. By declaring the outbreak a national emergency, we expected financial assistance to upgrade the facility to an ideal isolation centre. Now its appearing as if Covid-19 is a Harare City Council responsibility,” said the Council.
ReplyDelete“All central hospitals are now referring all cases here, including some which do not even meet the screening criteria, thereby overburdening our staff, which are already demotivated by the negative comments coming from clients. All facilities should be doing assessments before referring cases here.”
The Council official knew that Wilkins Hospital was named as the centre to handle any corona virus cases and should have made it know that the Hospital was not in a position to take any patients. When Nelson Chamisa visited the Hospital and praised it for its “preparedness” the Council should have put the record right! It did not!
Mnangagwa was responding to questions about Coronavirus from journalists.
ReplyDelete“The process is likely to follow, but for now, we have decided to have health personnel around the area to monitor and make sure that people coming in or out of those places are screened. If the need arises that we close Mbare (green market) and other markets, we will do so. But this is the first phase of our action to restrict free movement,” said Mnangagwa.
This is not only idiotic but it is irresponsible! The health personnel monitor by checking the temperature of the people and yet we already know that some people with corona virus are infectious even if they are not showing the usual symptoms. Most of the people using these markets have no other means of earning a living and so one can understand why government is reluctant to close them still it should not give the people a false sense of security.
The volume of people and in such close proximity makes these market a hot bed for transmitting the virus far and wide and quickly!
It would be better to devise ways to reduce the amount of time an individual spends in these markets by keeping the people moving in one direction, selling a particular item in one designated area, limiting the number of people allowed in at a time, etc.
Former Energy minister Samuel Undenge reportedly ordered the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) management to overlook Intratrek boss Wicknell Chivayo's criminal record and award him the US$183 million Gwanda Solar Project, a Zesa final forensic audit report has revealed.
ReplyDeleteCorruption has been rampant in Zimbabwe and this puts to the sword the lie that sanctions was the root cause of the country’s economic meltdown.
IT’S business as usual at the busy Mbare Musika Market in Harare with thousands of traders, middlemen, buyers and long-distance bus travellers converging early morning every day despite a government ban of not more than 50 people gathering to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it continues to be a hive of activity at the country’s biggest market as people hustle for fresh farm produce, floor polish, charcoal, illicit cheap alcohol, drugs and other cheap products found there.
The sheer incompetence of this Zanu PF government is breath taking. It would not take a day to re-organise the traders' tables are in columns with traders on one side and the buyers moving in one direction on the other side. The Council should have clean running water facilities for people to wash their hands and their purchases if possible.
Corona virus is spreading in Zimbabwe and as the country moves into the cold months, we will start to see the number of people succumbing to the virus grow. Many people will die. The nation will be forced to ask could this have been avoided? And the answer will be yes!
For the first time in the nation's history, the people will ask why was the nation spending billions of dollars on Blue Roof mansions, extravagant lifestyle of 8 trips a year @ US$3 million for an eye check-up, 45 gold watches, etc. whilst even the country's referral hospitals were allowed to do into rot and decay? There is no doubt that the de facto one-party dictatorship has failed the nation and the pressure for a complete overhaul of the system will be irresistible.
THORNGROVE Hospital in Bulawayo, which is one of the two infectious diseases hospitals that have been established to cater for coronavirus patients, is still ill-equipped to admit patients as government has not provided any funding.
ReplyDeleteIn January, Health Minister Obadiah Moyo confirmed that Thorngrove and Harare’s Wilkins Hospitals would be equipped with state-of-the-art machinery in preparation of treating and quarantining coronavirus patients.
Both medical facilities are owned by the respective local councils.
“Thorngrove covers all Matabeleland, Midlands and Masvingo provinces,” said Sibanda.
Three weeks ago, the Global Fund director, Peter Sands said the Zimbabwe government had been allocated US$25 million to fight the coronavirus and the funds would be available in less than five days.
This week, Sakunda Holdings injected millions of dollars into two projects to resuscitate and equip Rock Foundation Medical Centre and St Annes Hospital, both in Harare, to be medical centres to treat the coronavirus.
However, the injection of funds into the two private medical centres has been viewed as a move by senior Zanu PF and government officials to prepare coronavirus treatment centres for the elite as they are unable to travel out of the country to seek medical attention due to travel restrictions placed on foreign nationals, let alone those seeking treatment for Covid-19.
This Zanu PF government has handled the covid-19 threat with the usual incompetence and corruptions the regime is known for. The price the nation is going to pay for this is huge. Covid-19 is not only going to destroy the nation’s already enfeebled economy but it is also going to cause untold human suffering and deaths!
We, the people of Zimbabwe, have tolerated this corrupt, vote rigging and tyrannical Zanu PF regime for the last 40 years. We have had many golden opportunities to end the dictatorship but wasted them all. We have paid for our folly but the price we are going to pay now will make all the suffering and deaths of the last 40 years look like small change. One only hopes that the suffering and deaths brought by covid-19 will force people to finally open their eyes and demand a competent and accountable government!
We have however noted that one of our patients, Robert Gomana who demised on 25 March 2020 has become of public interest in view of the COVID19 pandemic.
ReplyDeleteHow many other patience with corona virus symptoms have been tested to confirm their status?
As of 20 March 2020 a total of 16 covid-19 test had been carried out! The truth is the country has a handful of confirmed covid-19 cases but only because it has not followed the WHO advice of “TEST! TEST! TEST!”
For a country that knows that its health care services is all but collapsed, our only hope of stopping the spread of the virus was making sure it does not get a foot hold in the land, head it off at the pass, by aggressively testing.
Now the virus is spreading and the regime is preparing Wilkins and Thornegrove Hospitals with 35 or so units each. What a sick joke! At its peak there will tens if not hundreds of thousands of very sick people and 100 beds will be wilfully inadequate!
“In the situation we find ourselves in as a nation, we want to ensure all frontline medical staff are fully protected and we are putting in place measures that give them confidence as they carry out their noble duty of primary patient care and as they save lives,” said Mr Eddie Chibi, the CEO of Cassava Smartech, the parent company of the EcoSure insurance business.
ReplyDelete“We will also be immediately offering life and health insurance in the form of a cash benefit of Z$500 per day, for each day of hospitalization, and a lump sum benefit of $50 000 in the event of permanent disability and eventual death caused by any accident,” said Mr Mashiri. He added that the package would include a cash benefit of up to $30 000 in the event of death arising from any other cause apart from accidents.
“On top of that, we will also be offering 100 percent education scholarships for the children of any medical practitioner who takes up this offer to work in public hospitals or clinics at this time, should they pass on during this period.
Mr Mashiri said the education scholarship would be administered by Higherlife Foundation through its Capernaun Scholarship.
Higherlife Foundation – which is funded by the Econet group of companies and by Delta Philanthropies, the social impact vehicle of the Econet founder Mr Strive Masiyiwa and his family – has already been supporting hundreds of doctors who signed up to a Fellowship scholarship launched late last year.
Very, very generous indeed!
Corona virus is going to cause untold human suffering and deaths in Zimbabwe all because the country has failure to supply something as basic as clean running water much less five-star health care service.
We must ask why is it that our government is not able to supply clean running water and clean toilets to say nothing of medicine and basic equipment? Given the government had money to pay for as many as 8 eye check-up trips @ US$3 million in 2012 alone, built him the Blue Roof mansion, etc., etc.
The nation is forever grateful to people like Masiyiwa and donors for their generosity over the years they have bought us some valuable time to get our house in order. Sadly we have not always used the time wisely for we are still stuck with this corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous Zanu PF dictatorship. We must redouble our efforts and end this curse of bad governance.
@ MDC Statement
ReplyDeleteBesides this pandemic being declared a national disaster, as of 1400hrs Wednesday 25 March 2020, the central government was yet to deposit the promised RTGS 100 000 into Harare City treasury account, that translates to 2500 USD using the market rate of 40. This has derailed all the efforts to upgrade and to acquire needed materials including PPE’s and sanitizers.
Gloves are being supplied by Harare City Council from its coffers. The central government has not extended its hand at Wilkins Public Hospital.
What is more shocking is that the central government has abandoned the 100-bed Wilkins public hospital opting for an elite 36-bed Rock Medical Foundation, a private hospital situated in Mt Pleasant at number 92 Norfolk road Harare that is catering for the elite and the well-heeled.
The only support the City got was from the Chinese embassy in the form of direct refurbishment and upgrading of Wilkins Hospital. The refurbishment and upgrading will raise the beds to a total of 200 beds. The City Health Department has put a contingency plan to have outside tents that can accommodate up to 500 Covid-19 patients
This is all very confusing! Two weeks ago MDC leader Nelson Chamisa visited Wilkins Hospital and told the nation he was pleased with the preparedness of the hospital.
“I visited Wilkins hospital. So encouraging to see how the City of HARARE leaders & staff are working to enhance training, capacity and preparedness in dealing with COVID-19. I was taken through the processes. We must all do our best to be fight this pandemic,” tweeted Chamisa.
Is this a case of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing!!
"The question is whether or not any of them will be humble enough to realise that they have a nation to serve and they are not doing it any favours by demoting national interest while placing their own interests ahead," University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer Tawanda Zinyama said. "So far, there is no evidence of them shifting from their hardline stances, epitomised clearly by the blocking on Mbeki."
ReplyDeleteThe lack of quality debate is holding Zimbabwe back and nowhere is this more pronounced than in its political discourse. How anyone with half a brain can still believe that a power sharing arrangement between Zanu PF and MDC can end the country’s economic meltdown and political paralysis beggars belief. The two parties had a similar power sharing arrangement in 2008 to 2013 and it accomplished nothing. How will a new arrangement do any better?
Mnangagwa blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections; he did not honour his promise to hold free, fair and credible elections; and by so doing confirmed Zimbabwe was still a pariah state, same as during Mugabe’s days. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs there will be no meaningful economic recovery.
People like Tawanda Zinyama cannot deal with the reality that Zanu PF is illegitimate and must step down and so they are frantically looking for ways of legitimising the regime. Zimbabwe will remain a pariah state as long as Zanu PF remains in power with or without MDC!
South Africa's Institute for Security Studies wrote its paper ISS Today that, "Mnangagwa…agreed to meet Chamisa at State House but Chamisa turned that down on the grounds that it would have implied recognition of his legitimacy but said he would meet in any other state venue. Mnangagwa in turn declined and so the meeting never happened."
ReplyDeleteIt is a great pity that even the ISS has too joined the bandwagon of the braindead who have been calling for political dialogue between Chamisa and Mnangagwa and the formation of another Zanu PF and MDC power sharing arrangement.
The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic and political crisis the country’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections, the pre-requisite for competent and accountable government. The country has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for decades.
Mnangagwa rigged the July 2018 elections confirming Zimbabwe was still a pariah state, same as the Mugabe days. The Zanu PF regime is illegitimate and the addition of Nelson Chamisa and a few other MDC leaders will not make the regime legitimate.
The power sharing arrangement will implement the democratic reforms to ensure future elections are free and fair. The two parties failed to get even one reform implemented in the 2008 to 2013 GNU and it is naïve to believe they will do any better the second time round.
Zanu PF has rigged elections ever since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies now believe they have the divine right to rule the country and thus to rig the elections. Of course, this is nonsense and we, the people of Zimbabwe, have made a grave mistake of allowing the party to get away with rigged elections all these last 40 years. And, God knows, we have paid dearly for our folly in sweat, treasure, anguish and human lives.
Enough is enough! To get out of this man-made hell-on-earth we must demand free, fair and credible elections and stop the foolishness of appeasing those who rig elections. Zanu PF rigged the July 2018 elections, the party is illegitimate and must step down!