THE lives of Zimbabweans matter more than the economy which is why the Second Republic put in place measures that have seen the country managing to ensure that Covid-19 infections do not spiral out of control, President Mnangagwa has said.
On the global Covid-19 index, the President said, Zimbabwe
is on number 132 while countries like the United States of America which have
resources to mitigate against the spread of the virus have been hard hit by the
pandemic.
President Mnangagwa said his Government decided to put the
lives of people first ahead of the economy fully aware that after winning the
fight against the pandemic, the people can work on reviving the economy.
He was speaking during the commissioning a state-of-the-art
private ward as Zvishavane District Hospital and Zvishavane Vocational Training
Centre hostels constructed by mining giant Mimosa Mine to the tune of about
US$1 million in Zvishavane yesterday.
“I would like to mention that yesterday (Tuesday) in
Cabinet, my Minister responsible for the mobilisation of materials and
resources against the pandemic, Honourable (Orpah) Muchinguri was briefing us
about the index, world index of how countries are coping and responding to the
pandemic. We were informed that number one is the worst and number 138 is the
best, So number one was America, number two Brazil, number three India, number
four Russia, number five United Kingdom, number six I think its Spain and then
number seven the first African country, South Africa. I think you are
interested in knowing where Zimbabwe is. We are number 132,” he said, amid
applause from the delegates and Cabinet Ministers as well as Vice-President and
Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr Constantino Chiwenga.
“But looking at the resources at the disposal of the first
world, looking at the standard of health care of the first world, in comparison
to the level of health care and health facility in developing countries like
Zimbabwe, one would have expected that the pandemic would be more devastating
in countries like Zimbabwe where we have very poor, undeveloped health care.
But because, we as a Government decided that lives are more important to
preserve than the preservation of economic activities, if we succeed to preserve
the lives of our people, close the pandemic, we should be able to stick around
and say how do we resuscitate our economy? Therefore, the Second Republic will
never, never abandon the cardinal principle of recognising the fact that lives
are more important and everything must be done to preserve lives.”
As at October 2, Zimbabwe’s cumulative cases of Covid-19
stood at 7 858, with 6 322 recoveries and 228 deaths. 6 484 of the cases are
local transmissions. There were 50 new cases in week 39, compared to the 174
cases recorded in week 38.
President Mnangagwa commended Mimosa Mine for funding the
construction of the two projects.
“Sadly, however, we are witnessing this milestone
achievement following the passing on of Mr Alex Mushoriwa who was the general
manager at Mimosa Mine and very instrumental in spearheading this project. On
behalf of the Government and my own behalf, I wish to express my heartfelt
condolences to the Mushoriwa family, Mimosa Mine, relatives and friends for the
loss. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” he said.
Mr Mushoriwa died two weeks ago following a short illness. President
Mnangagwa said his administration values partnerships with all stakeholders in
the implementation of people centered projects.
“The modernisation and improvement in the quality of life
of our people is indeed a collective responsibility, not government
responsibility alone. Individually and collectively, as a nation we have got
that responsibility. These completed projects by Mimosa are an answer to the
call by my Government for the private sector to be actively involved in the
actualisation of vision 2030 and the realisation of development which leaves no
one behind,” said President Mnangagwa.
He said the handover of the Zvishavane District Hospital’s
private hospital ward comes at an opportune time as the country is still faced
with containing Covid-19 pandemic as well as revitalising the health delivery
system as a whole.
The refurbished and fully equipped private ward, President
Mnangagwa said, will undoubtedly provide quality specialist health care
services previously only available in the big cities.
“Since I come from very near here, I’m very happy that the
ward can be very useful to me. I congratulate and commend you for bringing this
critical infrastructure development closer to the people. Furthermore, I
applaud Mimosa for responding to the Government’s call in the fight against
Covid-19 pandemic.
“The company is praised for facilitating the establishment
of isolation and treatment centres at Gweru and Masvingo provincial hospitals
as well as at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
“I’m informed that Mimosa Mining Company in conjunction
with Murowa Diamond Company rehabilitated Lundi Rural Healthcare Isolation
Centre. We thank the two companies for that initiative.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is still with us, I repeat, the
Covid-19 pandemic is still with us. I see that all the people I can see have
masks. I don’t know if it’s because I’m around, but if you put them on even
when I am not here with my Minister, that is the correct thing to do,” he said.
Herald
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