His comments came after a power outage interrupted a visit
by U.S. Ambassador Pamela Tremont, who was touring the hospital’s HIV
laboratory, which is supported by the U.S. government.
Due to the outage, Ambassador Tremont was unable to see the
laboratory equipment in operation.
“As I was coming here, I had my secretary send a reminder
to the parent ministry about our request for exemption from outages,” Dr.
Dzvanga said. “We have several key institutions here, including lines that
serve the State House and even water supply, but they can’t separate us from
the general grid.”
Dr. Dzvanga highlighted that while the Bulawayo mayor David
Coltart indicated it’s possible to dedicate water supply to Mpilo without
disconnection, ZESA has raised complications.
He urged higher-level discussions to ensure that all
hospitals, not just Mpilo, receive uninterrupted power.
“At the ministerial and cabinet level, it has been long
agreed that all health institutions must be exempt from power cuts, including
cases of non-payment for water and electricity,” Dzvanga added.
He also revealed that Mpilo Hospital has a solar farm
capable of powering the entire facility, but a vital cable for connection is
still being sourced from Germany.
“The irony is we have a complete solar farm right here, but
the missing piece is the cable, which is coming from Germany. Once we’re
connected, Mpilo Hospital will no longer experience power outages,” he said.
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