Mutare seeks govt help to beef up fleet

SYDNEY SAIZE IN MUTARE

The Mutare City council says it is in urgent need of additional ambulances to enhance its service delivery. The city’s mayor, Blessing Tandi said council needs to increase its ambulance fleet from the current two that are operational.

“As council, we need to increase our fleet of ambulances. Currently we have two that constantly break down and, as a stop-gap measure, we are considering converting one of our open trucks to an ambulance,” he said.

Tandi said under the recapitalisation programme currently underway the local authority was seeking government bailout to enable it to acquire additional ambulances, a move which will result in a smooth and efficient service to the city’s health department.

“Our residents are struggling to pay up and some of them owe the council and we cannot rely on their bill payments to achieve that goal,” he said.

The council is owed more than ZWL$400m by its residents and has appealed for the debtors to come forward and make payment plans after efforts to engage a debt collector were shot down by the courts.

The mayor said the council’s clinics, polyclinics and hospitals need to be equipped with proper equipment and medicines.

“We are not alone in this but several and if not all health service centres are affected. It is paramount at this time to note that our hospitals have depleted resources to treat and care for the sick let alone carrying out surgical procedures,” Tandi said.