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Shot in the arm for Bulilima clinic

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THE International Organisation of Migration (IOM) has donated US $30 000 for the construction of Ngwana Clinic in Bulilima District which will serve over 1 000 households in four wards.

By RICHARD MUPONDE

THE International Organisation of Migration (IOM) has donated US $30 000 for the construction of Ngwana Clinic in Bulilima District which will serve over 1 000 households in four wards.

The clinic will be constructed in partnership with Bulilima Rural District Council (BRDC), the Zimbabwe National Army — which will provide builders, the community and Ngwana village diasporans under the banner Banha BeNgwana Development Trust.

The project was started in 2013 under the country’s rural district council’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) initiatives.

This came to light during a briefing by BRDC chief executive officer John Brown Ncube to Industry and Commerce minister Nqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu at the groundbreaking and fundraising ceremony of the clinic on Sunday.

“We made applications as 62 RDCs countrywide and Bulilima was one of the councils which had its project proposal approved by IOM. They then gave us US$30 000 which is seed money for this project. However, some of the material for this clinic is coming from our diasporans,” said Ncube

Addressing guests, Ndlovu said the Ngwana community was ahead of government‘s devolution programme because they had stood up to spearhead development in their own area without looking up to the central government for funds.

“Let’s do things for the future generation. If we take everything that way we are going to reach far,” Ndlovu said.

“Let’s not see life in the past, but future. When we liberated this country, those who fought were mainly driven by self-determination and economic emancipation. The same spirit is in the Ngwana people who stood up and said if we don’t develop our area who will do it for us.”

He said the villagers’ efforts were complementing the Ministry of Health and Child Care to provide the necessary primary health care to meet SDG 3.

“This is being championed by the Ngwana people here. When we reach 2030 there will be no people without any access to health care. Primary health care in this area is going to improve. Patients, especially pregnant women, will no longer have to travel long distances to get medical attention and that will also decrease the child mortality rate,” he said.

Ndlovu and his counterpart the Minister of State in Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga’s office, Eveline Ndlovu donated 30 bags of cement each.

Bulilima-Mangwe senator, Simon Khaya Moyo donated ZWL $150 and BRDC ZWL $1 300 among other donations made by various businesspeople and villagers.

In 2017, IOM partnered Beitbridge Rural District Council to construct a clinic in the Chabili area with the assistance of the army.