By Anna Chibamu
HEALTH and Child Care deputy minister Sleiman Kwidini, Wednesday told Parliament that citizens are “very happy” with the service delivery in public hospitals, dismissing concerns raised over the collapsing sector as just “social media”.
Kwidini was speaking during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly.
This follows Youth Empowerment Minister Tinoda Machakaire’s plea on social media for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to make time and see “firsthand” the dire state of public hospitals.
Zimbabwe’s healthcare system has collapsed over the years, suffering a massive brain drain, lack of equipment, poor conditions and demotivated workers among several other issues.
Despite petitions to the government for an urgent redress and protests by healthcare professionals, there has been little to no action, with hospitals now becoming death traps.
Zanu PF Chivi South MP Felix Maburutse sought clarification from Kwidini regarding what Machakaire wrote on X (Twitter) about the situation in government health institutions.
“Social media is portraying a negative picture of the status of our healthcare. May the minister update the House on the government policies and programmes that have been done so far and the roadmap in improving healthcare?” Maburutse said.
Responding to the MP, Kwidini said, “On the part of the social media, indeed, people on social media always talk about what is not happening in the ministry but as the ministry, we are doing wonders since 2018, to make sure the citizens receive quality care.
“What we are doing is only known by the patients, not the social media participants. As we speak right now, our citizens are very happy with the service delivery that we are giving. As we speak, in the first 100 days…” said Kwidini before being interrupted by opposition legislator Charlton Hwende.
“He must just concentrate on responding to the legitimate issues that people are raising,” said Hwende.
The deputy minister proceeded amid interjections from the opposition bench.
“I was on the way to say the complaints were coming from social media. No actual person has come to the Ministry to complain directly to the Minister.
“Nevertheless, as we speak and as I said, the ministry has improved a lot in terms of service delivery. As we speak, from the first 100 days of the first quarter of 2025, we managed to change some hospital equipment in the sixty-three districts; that is, x-ray machines, theatre beds and so forth.
We are working on other equipment that will be installed as soon as possible,” Kwidini told the August House.
Kwidini added that the ministry had tried its best, working hand in hand with the Finance ministry to make sure all medicines and other sundries were availed.
He also gave the excuse that Zimbabwe does not produce or manufacture most of the drugs and sundries.
“When we place orders, they are sourced out of the country. They take three to six months to be supplied but I assure this House that in the shortest period of time, we will see improvements.
“Everything is now well known that our social media is attacking the Ministry of Health, especially on issues of visitors, not the beneficiaries of the treatment like the patients,” he added.
Kwidini even assured the acting Speaker Tshuma that if people moved around asking patients who were receiving treatment at government health centres, they were very happy with the service which they were receiving.
Other MPs differed with Kwidini’s response.
“We know what is in these hospitals. There is growing inequality. Most people who cannot access quality health services are those who cannot afford.
“So, the societal differences are born out of poverty for most people who go to our hospitals and are told that you have to go and buy a bandage, you have to go and get this medicine, they cannot afford it,” Marondera Central MP Caston Matewu said.
The acting speaker, Joseph Tshuma dismissed the opposition MP saying, “if the source of the complaints is from the media, print or whatever and is not verifiable, that cannot be regarded as a source of information.
“If it was based on social media or any other media source, that cannot be debated as a verifiable source,” said Tshuma.
However, Tshuma was challenged by Mbizo MP C. Madzivanyika.
“If we say we cannot rely on social media to validate issues of national interest, I do not think it is sustainable Mr. Speaker.
“The Minister of Youth raised this issue of problems in the hospitals on his Twitter account and the Minister of Health and Child Care used the Twitter account to respond.
“Twitter has verified accounts and unverified accounts. The Minister of Health and Child Care’s Twitter account has a blue tick, which indicates that it is a verified account. The same applies to Hon. Machakaire’s X handles. Above all, Mr. Speaker, can we be furnished with the Order that says social media is not acceptable?”
The matter was not concluded as Tshuma told the house that the matter could only be resolved with both ministers present in Parliament for further interrogation and verification purposes.