Public, private partnership pays off

GONE are the days when all that is good, modern and quality was a preserve of urban areas as the Second Republic has already started turning around the tables by ensuring that no one is left behind in national development and provision of quality healthcare, including other essential services across the country, President Mnangagwa has said.

Speaking at the commissioning of a state-of-the-art private ward at a Zvishavane Hospital and a double-storey girls hostel at Zvishavane Vocational Training Centre built by Mimosa Mining Company, the President said Government valued “partnerships with all stakeholders in the implementation of people- centred projects towards building the Zimbabwe we all want” and encouraged other private companies to invest in communities around them.

“Gone are the days where, that which is good, modern and quality, is a preserve of those in big urban cities,” he said.

And to ensure that quality services cascades to all communities, both rural and urban, the Second Republic is currently revamping the critical health sector as well as other social services sectors so as to ensure that by 2030, Zimbabwe becomes an upper middle economy.

“The modernisation and improvement in the quality of life of our people is indeed a collective responsibility. These completed projects by Mimosa are an answer to the calls by my Government for the private sector to be actively involved in the actualisation of Vision 2030 and the realising of development which leaves no one behind,” the President said.

The President said the ongoing reforms in the health sector will see the construction and rehabilitation of health delivery centres with particular focus on rural areas and resettled areas.

“My Government is accelerating the implementation of programmes and sustainable strategies for the provision of quality and affordable universal health care. To this end, the ongoing reforms in the health sector will improve service delivery and also see the construction and rehabilitation of public health care infrastructure, particularly in rural and newly resettled areas”.

The President was accompanied by Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga who is also the Minister of Health and Child Care, Minister of Defence Cde Oppah Muchinguri, Minister of Mines and Mining Development Hon Winston Chitando and other senior Government officials at the handover of the two infrastructural projects by executives from Mimosa Mining Company led by the managing director Mr Fungai Makoni.

“The handover of the Zvishavane District Private ward project comes at an opportune time when our country is still faced with containing the Covid-19 pandemic as well as revitalising the health delivery system as a whole. The refurbished and fully equipped state of the art private ward will undoubtedly provide quality specialist healthcare services previously available only in big cities. I congratulate and commend you for bringing this critical development infrastructure closer to the people,” President Mnangagwa said.

The President lauded Mimosa Mining Company for stepping up to the plate when the country was fighting the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, a global plague that is still upon the nation.

He reiterated that people should continue observing Covid-19 regulations such as wearing face masks, social distancing and washing hands as the virus that has forced lockdowns worldwide is still to be overcome.

At the onset of the global pestilence, Mimosa Mining Company facilitated the establishment of isolation and treatment centres at Gweru and Masvingo General Hospitals and also at the Robert Mugabe International Airport. In conjunction with Marowa Diamond, the mining company also rehabilitated Lundi Rural Hospital.

Apart from commissioning the state of the art ward, the mining company also constructed a double storey girls’ hospital at the famed Zvishavane Vocational Training Centre, built by the same company.

“We commend Mimosa for providing equipment to the facility, which includes computers, study desks and a refurbished canteen. These will augment the education and living experience of students, I challenge students passing through the Vocational Training Centre to use the facilities and equipment appropriately so that successive students will also enjoy similar benefits.

“In line with our Education 5.0 and the National Skills requirements, I call on the private sector to go beyond the provision of infrastructure. They must play an active part in the design and delivery of appropriate education curricula and skills within our education institutions. Such collaboration will result in quality public training programs while developing more demand-driven training and improving our entrepreneurship base, thus ultimately accelerating our modernization and industrialization,” said.

President Mnangagwa has been leading from the front as he pulls the nation towards his Vision 2030 of making Zimbabwe an upper middle class economy. The country’s economic prospects are brighter with infrastructural development taking place across the country, while huge investments are being made in the agriculture sector and industrialization.

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