§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the closure of the regional hospital in the Matabeleland South province of Zimbabwe. [136274]
§ Hilary BennShangani hospital serves a population in Matabeleland South Province that includes about 12,500 newly resettled families in a former commercial farming area.
At the end of September 2003, Shangani hospital announced that it had ceased to admit patients because it had run out of food. This occurred despite Government of Zimbabwe policy that all hospitals and other key institutions have priority for access to food supplied by the Grain Marketing Board, which is a parastatal. In response, the chair of the Provincial Food Task Force promised to provide food to the hospital on an emergency basis and to undertake an investigation into the situation.
Shangani hospital is now operating again, although shortages of food, ambulances and fuel persist.
§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the interruptions to the water supply in Harare, Zimbabwe. [136275]
§ Hilary BennSeveral cities and towns of Zimbabwe are being affected by the interruption of their water supplies to varying degrees. The lack of provision of foreign exchange by the central government imposes a serious constraint on local government's capacity to purchase water treatment chemicals. In addition, the country is coming towards the end of the dry season resulting in very low levels in the main reservoirs.
It is hoped the recent rains will have helped the situation, as well as the anticipation of normal rainfall this year. The Harare city council so far is managing to ensure clean water supplies to Harare, and has begun to receive some support to import chemicals from donors following a request through the United Nations. There has recently been a general improvement in supplies as the city council took active action to deal with the situation including a hosepipe ban.