Govt reacts angrily to Minister Machakaire’s comments on dire situation in hospitals
By Caleb Chikwawawa
The government has condemned remarks made by youth empowerment minister Tinoda Machakaire over the unpleasant situation in Zimbabwe’s health delivery institutions.
In a social media post, Machakaire said he came face to face with the dire situation in the country’s health crisis when he visited a relative in one of the hospitals.
He then expressed his experiences in writing saying, “what I saw was deeply moving – a clear indication that many of our people are facing serious challenges.”
Machakaire went on to plead with President Mnangagwa to visit public hospitals to see the situation himself, saying, “There is no substitute for seeing, listening and understanding first hand what our citizens are going through.”
But the Ministry of Health and Child Care took umbrage with the minister’s remarks saying the comments were selective.
“The Ministry of Health and Child Care has taken note of recent negative remarks circulating on social media, which appear to form part of a broader pattern of unwarranted and mischievous attacks pronouncing them as mischievous.
“These comments seem to be well-orchestrated efforts aimed at selectively highlighting challenges within the public healthcare system, while deliberately overlooking the critical services still being provided – often under resource-constrained conditions and the significant progress made in recent years,” said the ministry in a statement.
Zimbabwe’s health delivery system has suffered under inadequate government funding, the flight of experienced health professionals and lack of critical medicines and equipment within government hospitals.
