…as devolution funds play key role
By Tinotenda Afarasi
The bold decision by the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa to allow communities to make developmental decisions, has paid off handsomely, as critical infrastructure has been constructed across the country.
For many people, if a family member fell sick or had a pregnancy that was almost due, they had this headache of thinking how they would take the patient to hospital because of the distances involved.
In most cases, healthcare facilities were between 20km and 30km away, which made travel difficult for those without scotch carts, and or money to hire one.
The situation was worsened by the bad condition of the road network, which prevented public transporters from plying some routes.
The few roads that were decent, came to a standstill during the rainy season as some bridges were impassable.
But since President Mnangagwa started releasing devolution funds in 2019, many communities have been transformed.
Those that have been away from their rural homes for four or so years, have been shocked at the magnitude of development that has taken place, especially in the areas of roads, healthcare and education.
In this article, focus is on some of the clinics that have been constructed in different parts of Zimbabwe.
Manyame RDC brings relief to villagers
Manyame Rural District Council is pressing ahead with constructing the Bwoni Clinic, which is now 90 percent complete.
The clinic is being constructed in Ward 3. Like most of the projects, it was started under the First Republic, but could not be completed due to a number of setbacks including funding.
President Mnangagwa announced in 2021 that gone were the days when developmental projects were started and continued without an end.
And indeed, most outstanding projects have been finalised while others, like Bwoni Clinic, are work in progress.
Recently, Manyame RDC chief executive Mrs Farirai Gutu led a delegation from her council to assess progress at the clinic.
Mrs Gutu praised the Government for disbursing devolution funds councils which they are now using to develop communities.
She said in their case, they had deployed their devolution allocation towards construction of the Bwoni Clinic to ensure the people of Seke have access to medical care closer to where they live.
“You may be aware that the residents of Ward 3 have no health facility nearby,” she said.
“Some are travelling to Dema or other Wards in search of medical assistance. The distance is long, especially for the old and the pregnant. υυυ τττ “So, we decided to assist here with devolution funds and we are happy as council that the clinic is nearly complete and soon people will be assisted here.”
Some residents of Ward 3 are walking for 10km to get to the nearest medical facility, which will be a thing of the past once Bwoni Clinic has been completed.
Mrs Gutu said they wish to have the outstanding works completed quickly so that the people of Seke can get medical attention closer to their homes in line with President Mnangagwa’s desire that people should not walk for more than 5km to access the nearest clinic or school.
“I am optimistic that by the end of March this year, this clinic will be complete and opened to the public. It is also our wish to build more clinics in every Ward, especially those in resettlement areas.
“We will build clinics every year so that more people can get medical support closer to their homes. If funds permit, we will continue building clinics for the people to reduce the distance they travel in search of medical assistance,” said Mrs Gutu.
Shiku villagers happy with Marira Clinic
President Mnangagwa says all his developmental projects are aimed at helping everyone, and should be seen in every community.
The whole idea is to ensure that no area develops more than others as that would cause people in areas that don’t have critical infrastructure such as schools and clinics to travel to areas with the infrastructure.
It is those long distances that the President doesn’t want, hence the mantra, “leaving no one and no place behind”, in terms of development.
In that regard, the new Marira Clinic was recently completed and commissioned in Shiku Village, Zvishavane, much to the joy of beneficiaries.
Marira Clinic was built through devolution funds, with villagers saying it will help them cut distances of up to 20km they have been walking to get to the nearest healthcare centre.
Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Owen Ncube, who commissioned the clinic, said health for all by 2025 was in sight.
“As we pursue an upper middle-income society earlier than 2030, health for all by 2025 is within reach as the New Dispensation has adopted bold strategic decisions that leave no one and no place for broad-based and inclusive modernisation that focuses on sound service delivery by local authorities,” said Minister Ncube.
The clinic, just like all those being constructed in all provinces, has modern equipment, electricity and clean water.
To avoid cases where trained nurses shun health facilities in rural areas, three nice houses for staff have been constructed.
Some clinics constructed in the First Republic had remained closed because the planners forgot to budget for staff houses, and no one was willing to move to a new area where they would have to commute to work.
Totonga Clinic opens in Shurugwi
The Totonga community is celebrating the commissioning of a new clinic in their area.
Before its construction and recent commissioning, villagers travelled for over 15km to get treatment, either at Shurugwi Hospital or Chikwingwizha Hospital.
In some cases, the patients wouldn’t travel for medical checks even if υυυ τττ they had bus fare because transport is generally a challenge in Shurugwi District, making the coming of Totonga Clinic a welcome relief.
Minister Ncube commissioned the clinic.
“I am greatly honoured to stand before you to mark the commissioning and handing over of this new and magnificent infrastructure here in Shurugwi District,” he said.
“The clinic will bring healthcare services closer to the people.
“As the Government, our mandate is to make sure that our people will not travel more than 5km to access health care services.”
Lazy Seven Clinic boost for Mazowe villagers
After realising that they needed to walk for between 10km and 40km to reach the nearest clinic even with pregnant women, the community took it upon itself to construct a clinic nearby.
In unison, the community started to mould bricks and in no time, construction started and division of labour started. Trained builders volunteered their labour while some became construction assistants.
Women would fetch the water needed for both the moulding of bricks and construction.
But along the way, the project couldn’t continue until the Mazowe RDC came on board armed with devolution funds, and the project took a whole new shape altogether after outstanding bricks were bought and council workmen took over.
In a recent update on progress, Mazowe RDC chairperson, Councillor Johnson Mudzingwa, said: “I want to thank the programme that President E.D. Mnangagwa has started with regards to devolution.
“We, as Mazowe, have benefitted a lot since devolution started; we have done water reticulation in Glendale, repaired roads in Concession and regards health, we have built Gombekombe Clinic, Chigwidza Clinic and staff houses.
“Right now, we are building the Lazy Seven Clinic. We have built everything and we are left with plastering and flooring.”
Villagers say on completion, the clinic will cut the distances they are presently walking to access healthcare facilities.
Nyamaridza Clinic brings joy in Muzarabani
The people of this community had been walking for 17km to get to David Nelson Clinic, which was their nearest medical facility.
Expecting mothers now have the luxury of walking home even after giving birth, as the distance is no longer long.
But Nyamaridza Clinic has come to rescue the over 3 000 villagers that depended on health facilities in other neighbouring places such as Mazowe and Mt Darwin.
Mashonaland Central Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Christopher Magomo, said the national rollout of health facilities will ensure attainment of health for all by the 2025 target.
“This clinic serves 3 000 people and most of them used to travel to other districts namely Mazowe and Mt Darwin,” said Minister Magomo.
“Thus, under the NDS1, the Government wants to build a healthy nation so that we can all reach the upper-middle income economic status (by 2030); that is the vision of our President.”
Mwenezi North Constituency gets own clinic
For villagers in the Njelele area in Mwenezi North Constituency, the nearest health facilities were in Rutenga or Lundi area, both of which are about 15km away from their homes.
But the completion of Petronella Clinic, which was constructed last year by the Mwenezi Rural District Council using devolution funds, is expected to bring health services closer to over 10 000 people living in the Njelele and surrounding areas.
The project is nearly 90 percent complete and should potentially be commissioned in the first quarter of this year.
Villagers praised President Mnangagwa for answering their calls through construction of Petronella Clinic.
They faced challenges accessing the Rutenga and Lundi health facilities if anyone fell sick, especially at night.
Mwenezi RDC chief executive Mr Albert Chivanga said since 2019 when Government started disbursing devolution funds, they have implemented 45 projects, of which 37 have been completed.
Petronella Clinic is among the seven outstanding projects although they are all nearing completing.
“We expect to complete these projects in the shortest possible time,” said Mr Chivanga.
Other projects that are ongoing include classroom blocks at Bubi, Valley, Nyangambe and Shangarumwe primary schools.
Since 2019, Mwenezi, just like most parts of the country, has witnessed massive development with a bias on social services.
Devolution gets UN thumbs up
United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator Mr Edward Kallon says devolution funds have changed communities.
Mr Kallon said this after visiting Chimanimani to assess progress on the Hot Springs Clinic and Nechikware Youth Project, both of which were funded by devolution.  “This has been a very important visit for me. It has enabled me to have a feel of the devolution-funded projects, which was a clinic that I just came from and now I am here looking at the project that is being implemented by the youth.
“I was so impressed when one of the members spoke on how this has prevented them from abusing drugs,” he said.
The remarks by Mr Kallon imply that devolution funds have gone beyond transforming infrastructure, but are keeping young people busy, preventing them from engaging in drugs and substance abuse.
Apart from avoiding drugs while using facilities constructed for youths, others do so as they get jobs during the construction of clinics, schools and bridges among others.
Realising the huge impact devolution funds are having in communities, Mr Kallon said he was going to discuss with his colleagues what he had seen and “allow them to complement these activities of the Government especially the devolution funds to ensure that the investments are sustained and that they reach a large number of people”.
Beitbridge RDC finalises 3 more clinics
In some parts of Beitbridge RDC, villagers have been walking for up to 50km to get to the nearest health facility, but thanks to devolution funds, the local authority is working on cutting that to 10km for now, and eventually to 5km as demanded by President Mnangagwa.
Beitbridge RDC is one of those councils that have put devolution funds to good use, much to the benefit of communities.
Council CEO Mr Peter Moyo said in the construction of clinics, they have been well supported by ordinary citizens, devolution funds, development partners, and the Constituency Development Fund.
“We have identified primary health care as one of the major services in our area, hence we are building more clinics in areas with shortages.
“So far, working with the community members and supported by resources from the Government and other development agencies, we are building Dumba clinic in Ward 2, Mazunga in ward 14 and Whunga in ward 10. In addition, we have pegged another site at Tshipise in Ward 1,” said Mr Moyo.
In keeping with the mantra, “Nyika inovakwa, inotongwa, igonamatigwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa, libuswe, likulekhelwe ngabanikazi balo”, everyone has a role to play during the construction of the clinics. While the council provides technical support, some community members come in with money, others materials and others labour.
Said Mr Moyo: “We have had good support from everyone at Whunga including the army which provided builders.
“At Mazunga, which will service motorists along the Beitbridge to Bulawayo Road and the resettlement areas under Ward 14, we converted an old farm house into a clinic.
“We are now putting final touches pending final inspections by the ministry of health and child care”.
Expectations are that Mazunga and Dumba clinics would be opened to the public in the first four months of the year.
Mr Moyo said financial support from the central Government has helped them make good progress in delivering development.
“. . . our hope is that should we get more devolution and CDF funds we can speed the construction rate of such health care facilities.
“Ideally, we require eight more clinics for us to have a total coverage of health facilities under our area of jurisdiction.
“These should have the main building, potable water, incinerator and four standard staff houses and solar or be connected to the national grid power supply,” said Mr Moyo.
30 more top clinics being constructed
The Second Republic, through a partnership with a United Kingdom company, NMS Infrastructure, is constructing 30 additional state-of-the-art health centres under a US$210 facility signed in 2019.
The health centres have a capacity of 22 beds and will offer many services including maternity.
In Harare, the Stoneridge Health Centre has been completed to the public.
President Mnangagwa officially opened it in May 2022, and described it as “one of the best in the country”.
In Bulawayo, there is the 20-bed Cowdray Park Health Centre, which was commissioned by the President last year.
In the Midlands Province, there is the 20-bed Mataga Mini-Hospital in Mberengwa District.
It was commissioned by Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga last year and has a catchment of 61 000 villagers.
Runyararo Health Centre is under construction in Chimanimani, Manicaland Province, where thousands more will benefit.