A local Mukwada clinic in Mutare west has gone for two months without electricity resulting in 11 villagers struggling to access healthcare services.
The desperate Mutare west villagers have since contributed towards the repair of the transformer so that their clinic can resume operations.
Bocha Diamond Community Trust (BCDT) which coordinated villagers to raise funds to get the transformer repaired told 263Chat that they feel neglected by both the government and diamond mining companies who refused to chip in with assistance.
“l want to confirm to you that the community has raised money to buy the transformer , we raised about $US5 500, to buy the transformer after the government failed to assist us, only a repair is left so that we can have electricity at the clinic after going for almost two months without electricity ,” BCDT chairperson Moses Mukwada said.
“The clinic is assisting 11 villages out of 16 villages the Mukwada clinic also assists villagers in some surrounding areas such as Mutsago and Chipindirwe and workers from ZCDC,” added Mukwada.
Headman Mukwada was also disappointed after the government failed to assist them.
“Takataura nehurumende hatizi kana kuwana rubatsiro, ariyo asi hapana chatakapindurwa chinobatika. Takatozondoona kuti rekai tizvibatsire neanhu edu chero iwo aya engoda ZCDC hakuna chiro. (We have asked government to assist us but they are not doing anything. We realized that we had to act as a community to address the challenge, because even ZCDC is not helping us out),” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from the Provincial Medical Director Dr Simon Nyadundu proved fruitless as he did not respond to question sent to him.
Marange community remains underdeveloped in spite of diamond mining activities in the area, which brought numerous challenges including displacements and overburdening of local infrastructures by both company and workers.
