MDC legislator Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga yesterday claimed bodies are being eaten by rats due to lack of properly refrigerated facilities at most mortuaries in the country.
BY VENERANDA LANGA
Mushonga (MDC) asked Health and Child Care minister David Parirenyatwa in the National Assembly to explain if his ministry compensated people who collected corpses of their dead relatives in a deplorable state after being eaten by rats.
But Parirenyatwa said the allegations were not true.
He said wherever there was such an incident touts would have snatched the corpse and stored it at improper facilities.
“There are no rats at mortuaries, it is not true,” he said.
“However, the problems that we find is that there are a lot of touts outside hospitals and they divert corpses and claim that it is the problem of mortuaries and that happens at Mpilo Central Hospital and United Bulawayo Hospitals.”
In an unrelated issue, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development minister Joseph Made also told the House that there was rampant smuggling of vegetable produce and fruits including avocados from South Africa into the country.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Made was responding to a question by Nyanga North legislator Hubert Nyanhongo (Zanu PF) who wanted to know the measures his ministry was taking to protect local produce.
Zaka West MP Mapetere Mawere (Zanu PF) said avocados from South Africa were getting into the country while local ones were rotting at Mbare Musika.
“There are imports that we have allowed, but there is also a lot of smuggling taking place in the country,” Made said.
“We banned importation of sweet potatoes because the country has high quality ones.
“But we have to deal with the issue of imports with caution because we are also exporting avocado pears and we also do not want stringent measures on us.”
