MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday clashed with medical staff at Hopley Clinic in Harare South over rampant reports of MDC members being denied treatment.
Numerous reports say that the clinic has been discriminating against MDC-T supporters denying them medication.
While visiting Hopley in Harare South constituency yesterday Tsvangirai and the mayor Bernard Manyenyeni visited Hopley Clinic, the only medical institution in the area, where the sister-in-charge revealed diseases like diarrhoea are prevalent in the area and that the clinic has a huge task to service a population of 118 658 people.
He then confronted the sister in charge over reports of her staff discriminating against MDC-T supporters. The nurse who asked not to be named, together with her staff however denied the charges and referred Tsvangirai to the Health and Child Care ministry.
“We have no such cases reported. Everyone who comes in pays $5 that covers five days,” she said.
During the visit Tsvangirai was accompanied by the Mayor of Harare, Clr Bernard Manyenyeni.
Meanwhile the residents said they needed Harare city council to regularize and properly service their settlement, fix the road network, as well as water and sanitation provision. The residents said they greatly appreciated the visit by the MDC leader and pleaded with the mayor that they needed his urgent intervention to help avert the many deaths occurring in the area due to poor and unclean water sources.
After the tour, Tsvangirai urged the mayor to take action and ensure that the people’s health and safety are top priority. He also urged the residents to allow the process of layout of roads and sanitation to be conducted without disruption when council begins work there. He bemoaned the squalid condition in which people lived and outlined that leaders had an obligation to ensure that the people’s lives are improved, regardless of their political affiliation.