Zimplats Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alexander Mhembere has said the Kadoma General Hospital’s rehabilitation, that has costed around US$2 million, was put up by local entrepreneurs during a brief to the Minister of Health and Child Care Dr David Parirenyatwa in Harare today.
Zimplats started the rehabilitation of Kadoma General hospital during the end of January.
“One of the issues that we are quite excited about Minister is that, that whole facility (Kadoma General Hospital) was put up by what we call local entrepreneurs from the local communities,” Mhembere said.
The CEO said that Zimplats, which hired local contractors in the rehabilitation project. from the local communities wanted to share progress with the people of Kadoma.
Building materials used on the Kadoma General Hospital rehabilitation also came from the local people according to the Zimplats CEO.
“Bricks were done by a women’s club that have been formed,” Mhembere said. “The materials were taken from one of the ladies that does supply building materials from her own farm there (Kadoma).”
“Materials like sand and pit sand were supplied by another woman that owns a farm close by.”
“We said we don’t want contractors to come from Harare, all the materials had to be supplied from the local communities.” the Zimplats Chief said.
The people that did most of the work, on the rehabilitation of the health facility, were also from Kadoma according to Mhembere.
“All the work… it was done by the people who come from that area (Kadoma) so that they have a stake to contribute,” Mhembere said.
“So they (people in Kadoma) did quite a lot and we are proud that they did an excellent job and its one of the ways that we are promoting local enterprises developments in the communities”.
“But in our view also it is also a way of extending the cake to the communities so that from that that participate.”
Parirenyatwa thanked the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Retired General Gerald Gwinji for taking up the initiative of rehabilitating the Kadoma Hospital and Zimplats which used local labour, materials and initiatives in the facility project.
Gwinji said that the social responsibility, displayed by Zimplats really gives impact to the population on the ground.
