Opinion / Columnist
Mombeshora's propaganda in defence of a failed healthcare system is a shame
06 May 2025 at 13:53hrs | Views
The Ministry of Health's recent statement is a masterclass in political gaslighting - a brazen attempt to sugar-coat the rot that defines Zimbabwe's healthcare system under the so-called "Second Republic." Let's cut through the propaganda and confront the facts: the country's healthcare system is not on the mend - it's on life support, barely clinging to life.
1. "Major Infrastructure Upgrades" - A Hollow Boast
Claiming "major infrastructure upgrades" is both insulting and dishonest. Most hospitals in Zimbabwe - especially district and rural clinics - are dilapidated, chronically underfunded, and lack even the most basic necessities like running water, electricity, or functional toilets. Patients are forced to bring their own gloves, syringes, and even candles. Shouting about paint jobs at a few hospitals while the rest of the country's facilities crumble is not progress - it's a public relations stunt.
2. "Improved Availability of Medical Equipment and Supplies" - Where?
Doctors and nurses strike routinely due to lack of equipment and life-saving drugs. Cancer patients are turned away from Parirenyatwa and Mpilo because radiotherapy machines are broken. Surgical equipment is outdated, and entire hospital wings lie unused because nothing works. Pharmacies are either empty or sell medication at US dollar prices, out of reach for most Zimbabweans. The claim of improved availability is not only false - it's grotesque in the face of so much suffering.
3. "Expanded Training Programmes" - For What System?
Training healthcare workers in a collapsing system with no tools, no pay, and no future is a cruel joke. Thousands of doctors and nurses have fled Zimbabwe, driven out by poverty wages and impossible working conditions. There is no "brain gain" - only mass exodus. Training more workers only to watch them flee abroad is not progress; it's a brain drain crisis.
4. "Enhanced Maternal and Child Health" - A Deadly Myth
Zimbabwe has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the region. Women still give birth on clinic floors, often without skilled personnel or pain relief. Newborns die due to lack of incubators and infection control. The Ministry cherry-picks rare successes and parades them while hiding thousands of preventable deaths. This is spin - not policy.
5. "Landmark Open-Heart Surgeries" - A Distracting Circus
Yes, a handful of open-heart surgeries were performed. But how many Zimbabweans have access to such care? How many can even afford a blood pressure check? These surgeries were a symbolic spectacle - useful for headlines but irrelevant to the 95% of the population who die in silence due to treatable conditions. This is elite medicine for photo ops, not national healthcare reform.
6. "Telemedicine Demonstration" - A Cruel Mockery
Telemedicine? In Gokwe North? When the majority of rural areas don't even have cellphone towers, stable electricity, or internet? This is the height of delusion. You can't run telemedicine on batteries and hope. The Independence Day gimmick was not a sign of progress - it was a desperate attempt to fake modernity while people die of malaria and diarrhea due to lack of clean water.
"Collaboration, Not Confrontation" - A Silencing Tactic
This line is particularly dangerous. It is used to suppress criticism and protect incompetent officials. The real reason the healthcare system is in ruins is corruption, mismanagement, and the looting of public funds. Doctors who speak out are fired, journalists are harassed, and whistleblowers silenced. Demanding accountability is not "confrontation" - it's patriotism.
Conclusion: The Healthcare System Is in ICU - And the Regime Put It There
No amount of propaganda can wash away the truth. Zimbabwe's healthcare system has been gutted by years of kleptocracy and neglect. The poor are dying while the elites fly to South Africa, India, or Dubai for treatment. Instead of issuing self-congratulatory statements, the Ministry should hang its head in shame.
If Zimbabwe's healthcare is rising, then the dead must be imagining their funerals.
1. "Major Infrastructure Upgrades" - A Hollow Boast
Claiming "major infrastructure upgrades" is both insulting and dishonest. Most hospitals in Zimbabwe - especially district and rural clinics - are dilapidated, chronically underfunded, and lack even the most basic necessities like running water, electricity, or functional toilets. Patients are forced to bring their own gloves, syringes, and even candles. Shouting about paint jobs at a few hospitals while the rest of the country's facilities crumble is not progress - it's a public relations stunt.
2. "Improved Availability of Medical Equipment and Supplies" - Where?
Doctors and nurses strike routinely due to lack of equipment and life-saving drugs. Cancer patients are turned away from Parirenyatwa and Mpilo because radiotherapy machines are broken. Surgical equipment is outdated, and entire hospital wings lie unused because nothing works. Pharmacies are either empty or sell medication at US dollar prices, out of reach for most Zimbabweans. The claim of improved availability is not only false - it's grotesque in the face of so much suffering.
3. "Expanded Training Programmes" - For What System?
Training healthcare workers in a collapsing system with no tools, no pay, and no future is a cruel joke. Thousands of doctors and nurses have fled Zimbabwe, driven out by poverty wages and impossible working conditions. There is no "brain gain" - only mass exodus. Training more workers only to watch them flee abroad is not progress; it's a brain drain crisis.
4. "Enhanced Maternal and Child Health" - A Deadly Myth
Zimbabwe has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the region. Women still give birth on clinic floors, often without skilled personnel or pain relief. Newborns die due to lack of incubators and infection control. The Ministry cherry-picks rare successes and parades them while hiding thousands of preventable deaths. This is spin - not policy.
5. "Landmark Open-Heart Surgeries" - A Distracting Circus
Yes, a handful of open-heart surgeries were performed. But how many Zimbabweans have access to such care? How many can even afford a blood pressure check? These surgeries were a symbolic spectacle - useful for headlines but irrelevant to the 95% of the population who die in silence due to treatable conditions. This is elite medicine for photo ops, not national healthcare reform.
6. "Telemedicine Demonstration" - A Cruel Mockery
Telemedicine? In Gokwe North? When the majority of rural areas don't even have cellphone towers, stable electricity, or internet? This is the height of delusion. You can't run telemedicine on batteries and hope. The Independence Day gimmick was not a sign of progress - it was a desperate attempt to fake modernity while people die of malaria and diarrhea due to lack of clean water.
"Collaboration, Not Confrontation" - A Silencing Tactic
This line is particularly dangerous. It is used to suppress criticism and protect incompetent officials. The real reason the healthcare system is in ruins is corruption, mismanagement, and the looting of public funds. Doctors who speak out are fired, journalists are harassed, and whistleblowers silenced. Demanding accountability is not "confrontation" - it's patriotism.
Conclusion: The Healthcare System Is in ICU - And the Regime Put It There
No amount of propaganda can wash away the truth. Zimbabwe's healthcare system has been gutted by years of kleptocracy and neglect. The poor are dying while the elites fly to South Africa, India, or Dubai for treatment. Instead of issuing self-congratulatory statements, the Ministry should hang its head in shame.
If Zimbabwe's healthcare is rising, then the dead must be imagining their funerals.
Source - Wa Malikongwa
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