THE Salvation Army has denied allegations that Tshelanyemba Hospital in Maphisa had closed amid reports of corpses rotting in the mortuary and an acute shortage of drugs. PRIVILEGE SHOKO OWN CORRESPONDENT
Tshelanyemba is a Salvation Army-run hospital in the Matobo district. Speaking at an all stakeholders’ meeting at the hospital on Wednesday, lieutenant-colonel Trustmore Muzorori, a representative of the Salvation Army, said Tshelanyemba was fully operational and would never be closed.
“On behalf of the Salvation Army, we want to tell the world that Tshelanyemba is still working and the reason for its establishment still stands,” he said, adding that the hospital’s operations had been affected by lack of electricity.
“Because electricity is an issue, we cannot cater for all services as there is low storage of drugs,” he said.
“We refer critical cases to district hospitals so as to avoid many deaths.”
The hospital has been in the dark for more than four months following the theft of electric cables.
Six men were arrested in Bulawayo’s Nkulumane suburbs on July 16 and 17 in connection with the theft of cables that supply electricity to the hospital.
The men were found in possession of 898kg cables worth $10 852,50. The cables were 3,6km and had been cut into small pieces and hidden in spare wheels and 20-litre buckets.
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Muzorori urged the community to work together with the church to raise the banner of Tshelanyemba Hospital.
“We realised that we cannot do this alone, but together we can make it.”
Speaking at the same meeting, senator Sithembile Mlotshwa said the community should assist the hospital to ensure it gives full service to the people.
Mlotshwa appealed to the police to protect power lines following cable theft that left the hospital in the dark.
“The Home Affairs minister should remove the police from the roadblocks and deploy them in the community where they are most needed,” she said.
“The police should make sure that they protect the community.”
She urged the community to be alert and be on the lookout for any suspicious activity. She appealed to the Health ministry to install solar panels at the hospital so that it can give full services to patients.
