By Tinoonga Mawere Masvingo|Provincial Administrator Felix Chikovo ‘s daughter died as a result of a ZESA prolonged power cut at Masvingo Provincial Hospital last Friday.
Tendai Chikovo Mukapa (27) who had given birth through an operation, suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to the provincial hospital but the life support machines could not be operated because there was no electricity. Chikovo condemned the snail slow pace by ambulance staff at the hospital.
The latest event mirrors the sorry state of persistent power cuts -a reality thousands of Zimbabweans face on a daily basis. Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have lost their lives under circumstances death could have been avoided-since machines at major hospitals require electricity round the clock .
Chikovo came face to face with the reality of power cuts-albeit in an unfortunate way and the top civil servant lamented the pathetic situation at the biggest hospital in Masvingo Province.
“The situation at the hospital is terrible. There was no electricity at Masvingo Hospital and the generator had no fuel; and this delayed the whole process of giving my daughter medical attention .The ambulances are not suitable for ferrying people -it is really terrible ,”said Chikovo.
At Masvingo Hospital several people have complained about deaths caused by power cuts since there is need for all round power supply. Hospital authorities told ZimEye.com yesterday power supply was inconsistent and erratic such that caesarean operations among other critical service have been severely affected . Power cuts have become routine in a country the Robert Mugabe regime is seemingly clueless regarding the critical situation.