By
Nokuthaba
Dlamini
In
remote
communities
such
as
Tinde
in
Binga,
village
health
worker
Margaret
Bernard
says
families
often
face
long
waits
for
emergency
transport.
“It
can
take
up
to
seven
hours
for
an
ambulance
to
come
from
Binga
District
Hospital
to
Tinde,”
she
said.
“When
there
is
an
emergency,
it
becomes
very
difficult
because
some
people
die
before
the
ambulance
arrives
or
on
the
way
to
hospital.”
She
added
that
while
air
ambulance
services
are
sometimes
available
for
emergencies,
they
are
not
always
accessible
to
local
clinics,
meaning
patients
must
first
reach
the
district
hospital,
a
cost
many
families
struggle
to
afford.
The
crisis
is
compounded
by
transport
charges.
Bernard
said
the
US$45
fee
required
to
hire
an
ambulance
to
Binga
District
Hospital
is
beyond
the
reach
of
many
households.
Some
residents
say
they
have
been
forced
to
turn
to
private
arrangements.
A
Victoria
Falls
resident
said
he
once
paid
about
US$240
for
fuel
to
transport
his
critically
ill
mother
to
Bulawayo
after
an
ambulance
was
unavailable
due
to
fuel
shortages.
Local
leaders
say
poor
road
conditions
are
also
contributing
to
delays
and
risks
during
patient
transfers.
Nkayi
ward
18
councillor
Thubelihle
Mabuza
Ncube
said
long
travel
times
and
damaged
roads
were
affecting
emergency
response.
“Ambulances
are
meant
to
speed
when
transferring
emergency
patients,
but
it
is
not
the
case,”
she
said.
“It
can
take
up
to
seven
hours
to
reach
Bulawayo
because
of
potholes,
dust
and
narrow
roads.
Some
patients
have
died
while
being
ferried
or
while
families
are
still
trying
to
raise
money
for
fuel.”
The
issue
was
also
raised
in
the
Senate
on
9
April,
where
Senator
Ritta
Ndlovu
called
for
urgent
attention
to
the
Bulawayo–Tsholotsho
and
Dete–Binga
roads.
“Last
week
I
used
these
roads
and
it
is
as
if
you
are
in
a
dream
travelling
along
those
roads,”
she
said.
“It
is
now
taking
seven
to
ten
hours
to
get
to
our
destination.”
Transport
and
Infrastructural
Development
Minister
Felix
Mhona
acknowledged
the
poor
state
of
the
country’s
road
network,
saying
rehabilitation
work
was
being
planned.
“I
want
to
concur
with
you
that
a
number
of
our
roads
are
in
a
sorry
state
because
of
various
reasons,”
he
said.
He
told
the
Senate
that
tender
processes
for
several
road
projects
had
been
completed,
adding
that
work
would
begin
once
the
rainy
season
ends.
“We
are
just
waiting
for
the
rains
to
stop
and
very
soon,
there
will
be
massive
rehabilitation
programmes
in
Matabeleland
South
and
North,”
he
said.
Mhona
said
the
Kwekwe–Nkayi–Lupane
Road
was
among
priority
projects,
noting
it
would
significantly
reduce
travel
distance
between
Harare
and
Victoria
Falls
once
completed.
He,
however,
urged
patience,
saying
the
government
was
managing
a
large
national
road
network.