Maravi

US$53m mobile hospital loan unnecessary – EK

US$53m mobile hospital loan unnecessary – EK
By Florence Bupe and Misheck Wangwe
Fri 30 July 2010, 10:00 CAT

ENOCH Kavindele has said the US $53 million borrowed from China for the procurement of mobile hospitals is the most unnecessary loan and a drain on the country’s financial resources.

And Kitwe Anglican priest Richard Luonde has said Zambia needs a government that will respect God’s creation. In an interview, Kavindele, who is former Republican vice-president, said the loan would do nothing but commit future generations to unnecessary debt repayment.

“It is most unfortunate that government has gone against the advice of the people who have had experience with mobile clinics which were tried before and didn’t work. This loan is the most unnecessary, it is just a drain on the country’s resources and future generations,” he said.

Kavindele, a former health minister, said mobile hospitals could not work in Zambia because there was no supporting infrastructure in place.

He said the concept did not make sense because most fixed health institutions in the country lacked adequate manpower to manage them.

“In Zambia, the state of our roads can’t allow these hospitals to operate efficiently. In addition, we don’t even have sufficient doctors to man these hospitals, and I am privy to this information as former health minister,” he said.

Kavindele said mobile hospitals would be a wasted procurement that would end up being a white elephant.

He said the government should have listened to concerns raised by Zambians and other stakeholders who opposed the idea because those concerns were valid.

“It is our business as Zambians to know what government is doing because they are in government on behalf of Zambians. They should, therefore, do things on behalf of Zambians but this idea was opposed by Zambians,” said Kavindele.

Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) said the procurement of mobile hospitals would not address the existing bottlenecks in the delivery of health services.

CSPR executive director Patrick Mucheleka advised the government to resolve the problems of drug shortages and inadequate medical staff in health centres.

“The non-availability of essential drugs and a crisis of inadequate medical staff are serious concerns in the health sector. A mid-term evaluation of the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) showed that despite improved access to health care services for vulnerable communities, most health facilities had inadequate supply of drugs and other medical supplies,” he said.

Mucheleka said the budgetary allocation to the health sector had continued to be inadequate, thereby affecting the availability of drugs and other supplies.

“We at CSPR do not approve of the proposed mobile hospitals as a solution to the challenges prevailing in the delivery of health care services to poor people, particularly those in rural areas,” Mucheleka said.

“The proposal of mobile hospitals will not only be expensive but also unsustainable, which may end up being a waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Mucheleka urged the government to analyse the gains and losses of such a venture in the medium and long term, taking into account the interests of ordinary Zambians.

“The proposed mobile hospitals may reverse the development in the health sector in the sense that the concentration may be tilted towards new but not viable projects that are short-lived as opposed to traditional hospitals and clinics,” said Mucheleka.

And Fr Luonde charged that the MMD government does not want to listen to the people it governs.

Fr Luonde said it was disappointing that the government had refused to heed people’s calls for permanent hospitals, especially in rural areas where people had to travel long distances for medical attention and not mobile hospitals.

He said it was surprising that the government decided to get a loan for mobile hospitals when the roads in most rural areas were in a terrible state.

“They government want to create a huge debt for this country again by getting unnecessary loans. It would have been understandable if they got a loan to build hospitals or health centres because that’s what the people in rural areas need. If mobile hospitals have worked well in China, it doesn’t mean that they can suit the Zambian situation,” Fr Luonde observed.

“We don’t have roads in rural areas, people struggle to move and these vehicles once they are brought they will breakdown within a few months. We opposed this move but they have gone ahead. The problem is they don’t want to listen to the people they govern and they are doing things to the contrary. Their priorities in the health sector are misplaced.”

Fr Luonde said the government, under the leadership of President Rupiah Banda, was busy signing deals recklessly without due consideration.

He said the country was in need of permanent solutions in the health sector and not temporary interventions that would vanish.

“Zambia is in need of a government that would respect God’s creation, leaders that will govern the nation with humility; and not what we are seeing today. Why are they imposing the mobile hospitals on the people? Is that what we really need in this nation? People expressed displeasure over this matter but they have gone ahead with their illogical motive. Are they going to be telling people ‘please don’t fall sick because the mobile hospital is now shifting to another area?’ This is regrettable,” Fr Luonde remarked.

He said the rural population was in need of permanent structures and medical staff that would be stationed on a full-time basis.

Fr Luonde said people in rural areas had immense difficulties accessing medical attention and many people had died because they had been neglected in terms of medical facilities.

The government of China has given Zambia a 361 million yuan approximately US million concessional loan to acquire mobile hospitals.

Labels: ENOCH KAVINDELE, MOBILE HOSPITALS

posted by MrK @ 4:10 PM