REPORTS that a hospital in Matabeleland South has gone for a month without electricity are very disturbing.
Tshelanyemba Hospital in Kezi, Matobo district, was reportedly cut off the electricity grid after thieves stole cables over a month ago.
The power cuts have spawned serious water shortages, forcing hospital staff to travel for up to 2km to fetch water.
Hospital authorities were also forced to shut the mortuary down because refrigerators could not work without electricity.
According to Chief Nyangazonke a traditional leader in the area and villagers now find themselves having to bury their dead relatives in haste because they have no access to any other mortuary facilities.
Those that try to wait for relatives to arrive from other areas preserve the bodies through traditional means.
Under the traditional method, a body is covered with river sand and water is constantly sprinkled on the corpse to maintain coolness.
The situation is a clear recipe for disaster as no health institution can be expected to function like that for over a month.
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It is difficult to understand that Zesa would wait for a month to address such an emergency regardless of the extent of the sabotage.
If the power utility was overwhelmed by the damage caused by the saboteurs, it would have made sense for it to mobilise help from elsewhere because this is an emergency.
It is common knowledge that Zesa is facing serious operational challenges, but when it comes to emergencies like a hospital going without power for an indefinite period of time, the government should intervene.
Zesa should in such circumstances be in a position to marshal resources from other projets to address the emergency.
The inconvenience caused by the malfunctioning mortuary is unimaginable and the potential risk the situation poses to patients may never be known. Questions would also be asked about the political leadership in the area which has been mum about the crisis. Were it not for the chief, the crisis would have remained unknown.
Zesa should move in to address the Tshelanyemba disaster without any further delay to prevent loss of lives and alleviate the suffering of villagers in Kezi.
