Mpilo Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Narcisius Dzvanga, criticized both the City of Bulawayo and the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) for not exempting the hospital from ongoing water and electricity cuts.
Dzvanga’s remarks came after a power outage disrupted a visit by U.S. Ambassador Pamela Tremont, who was touring the hospital’s HIV laboratory, supported by the U.S. government.
Due to the blackout, the ambassador was unable to observe the lab equipment in action. Dzvanga mentioned that he had recently reminded the Ministry of Health about the hospital’s request for exemption from these outages.
He emphasized the importance of securing continuous water and electricity supplies for the hospital but noted that while the Bulawayo mayor indicated that uninterrupted water supply could be arranged, ZESA stated that providing consistent electricity would be more challenging.
Dzvanga further revealed that Mpilo Hospital has a solar farm capable of powering the entire facility, but a critical cable for connecting the system is still being sourced from Germany. Once installed, the hospital is expected to avoid future power cuts.
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