You are lying - ZBC told

ZBC TV has been told to stop lying after its news anchor and presenter said the country has ten provincial hospitals across all the ten provinces.

Revelations are that Matabeleland North province has no provincial hospital.
 
ZBC news Anchor and current affairs presenter  Oscar Pambuka over on Independence day said the country has ten provincial hospitals in its ten province.

A veteran journalist and political commentator Methuseli Moyo said it was not true that all provinces have provincial hospitals as his province Matabeleland North has no such.

"I have just heard a lie on ZBC TV during the Independence Day celebrations live broadcast by anchor Oscar Pambuka claiming "all the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe" have provincial hospitals," said Moyo.

"My home province, Matabeleland North has no provincial hospital, 35 years after independence. It has no institution of tertiary education, except for Lupane State University, which currently operates from Bulawayo. Some of the things that we take for granted, and assume are universal across Zimbabwe, are not."

He said St Lukes' Hospital is a Catholic Hospital, built to cater for Lupane, which has no district hospital and can not be taken as a provincial hospital.

"There is no way one facility can be both a district and provincial hospital. That is very abnormal, but is obtaining. In fact, there is no government hospital in the whole of Lupane, from Mzola to Insuza. Sad," said Moyo.

"There is no way a government that wanted all the people from the region dead should be expected to have developed the same people. It is no coincidence, and has nothing to with the wrangling that the two provincial capitals of Mat North and South are not up to scratch."

Moyo said it is the duty of journalists to ask those in government as to why it has not constructed a single provincial hospital of district hospital in Matabeleland North than just to lying that all provinces have provincial hospitals.

Doctor Ruth Labode echoed same sentiments saying St. Luke's is the designated District hospital for Lupane.

"As a government we cannot delegate our responsibility to missionaries," said Labode.

"For your information mission hospitals could just decide that they are now charging $20 per patient and government can do nothing about it. Ideally every district must have a government district hospital irrespective of who else is providing health services in the district. Every province must have a provincial hospital as a second line referral hospital."

Labode said St. Luke's is still a mission Hospital to which the government has delegated duties of a district hospital.

"That is why it is called a designated district hospital. That is why it's regulated by ZACH (Zimbabwe Affiliated Church Hospitals ). The Romans are doing what they want at St Luke's," she said.