via South Korea to build hospital in Mash Central | The Herald 12 December 2014
Mashonaland Central province will receive about $10 million for community development projects, which will result in construction of a new modern referral hospital, under a mutual agreement with a South Korean province.
A seven member technical team from South Korea has been in the country since Tuesday and will end their visit today, to look at requirements for construction of the hospital to be located adjacent to the exquisite Amai Grace Mugabe Children’s Home in Mazowe.
The delegation yesterday toured the First Family’s dairy business, Alpha and Omega in Mazowe, Amai Grace Mugabe Junior School, Amai Grace Mugabe Children’s Home as well as the site of the proposed provincial hospital.
Mashonaland Central Minister of State for Provincial Affairs Advocate Martin Dinha said the initiative was being pursued under a province to province arrangement with South Korea’s South Gyeongsang province to improve livelihoods for locals.
“We have a cooperation agreement with the province (South Gyeongsang), pursuant to that, this is the technical team to see that the agreement is put into action,” he said.
Adv Dinha said the visit by the Korean delegation was reciprocal to one undertaken recently by a delegation from his province under a mutual agreement.
He said the visit by the Korean delegation will be followed up by a high profile visit by South Gyeongsang province’s Governor Hong Jun Pyo in February or March next year.
Adv Dinha said of the $10 million grant, $5 million would fund the hospital construction, while the other $5 million would support a number of community projects.
He said that the proposed referral hospital will serve people from as far as Mukumbura in Mount Darwin, Mbire in Guruve and Shamva.
Initiatives under a similar programme carried out to develop and transform South Korea in the 1960s, known as the new village movement, include transport provision, infrastructure development, water and sanitation and livelihood projects.
Advocate Dinha said the initiatives, being undertaken under the auspices of First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe, was a demonstration of President Mugabe’s Look East Policy, which also resulted in several multi-million dollar deals with China and Russia.
Speaking after the tour, head of the South Korean technical delegation, Dr Jay Gill Pyeon, said “the hospital will contribute towards the health of the community in the provinces”.
“Targeted areas should have easy access to transport to get health services at the hospital,” he said. “We are looking at transport because it will enable the ordinary people to get access to health services at the institution.”
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