NINE families, who had their property burnt after a fire gutted a United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) hostel they resided in last month, still have no accommodation, amid revelations that hospital authorities reportedly blocked them from relocating to another premise.
STAFF REPORTER
Employees affected by the August 4 fire were a general hand, nurse aide, laboratory scientist, kitchen supervisor, cooks and some of the pharmacy department staff.
On Friday, some of the affected employees told the Southern Eye that they were now living a life of destitution following the fire. “We are seriously concerned about accommodation,” one employee, who asked not to be named, said.
“After the hostel was burnt, we were moved to Elangeni Training Centre where we lived for five days, before we were chased away by the institution’s principal on August 10.”
The employees said at Elangeni Training Centre they were offered a hall, where all of them slept in and were given three blankets each.
They said the principal at the institution told them that they were no longer wanted and must look for their own accommodation, as they had initially been offered accommodation for only two days, extended to five.
“We now go about squatting with friends and relatives, who get tired of us and we then leave to others,” another employee said.
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“There is no promise or hope of being given alternative accommodation by the hospital, as recently some senior officials had suggested some rooms be allocated to us, but the idea was shot down by other seniors who advised that we should look for accommodation elsewhere.”
The employees said they have also run out of money and food. They said the food they had received from the Red Cross soon after the incident, had run out and they were now starving due to demands associated with their lack of proper accommodation.
The fire broke out at the UBH’s Robbie Gibson Infections Diseases Hospital hostel, destroying property worth millions of dollars.
The blaze is said to have started at the pharmacist’s place, with indications that an electric heater had been left on. There were also claims that the fire was caused by a stove that was left on for too long.
Bulawayo City Council chief fire officer Richard Peterson put the value of the household property that was lost in the fire at $1,5 million, while the damage to the building was estimated at $5 million.
Narcisius Dzvanga, then acting chief executive officer, recently said eight families lost virtually all their property and they were appealing to the public, corporate organisations and the government to assist with financial and material resources.
He said they had since approached the Civil Protection Unit and other organisations to assist the victims of the inferno.
The hospital’s chief executive officer Nonhlanhla Ndlovu turned off her mobile phone when contacted for comment yesterday.
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