Staff Reporter
Financial institution Nedbank Zimbabwe has started a major infrastructure and medical equipment upgrade at Edith Opperman Maternity Clinic in Mbare to help strengthen maternal and child healthcare services.
The refurbishment work includes roof repairs and repainting, interior and exterior wall repairs and painting, ceiling repairs and replacement, brick dressing and general structural maintenance, driveway paving and access improvements, front wall construction, retiling of high-traffic areas with non-slip tiles, renovation of delivery rooms, refurbishment of reception area counters, refurbishment of toilets and bathrooms, replacement of plumbing fixtures, and rewiring and electrical works.
On power solutions, the bank is providing a 22 KVA backup generator and a 12 KVA full solar power system. The infrastructure refurbishment will cost the bank about US$113 000, plus labour costs estimated at about US$32 000.
Besides the infrastructure refurbishment, Nedbank is also contributing medical equipment valued at US$92 000 to support neonatal and maternal services at the clinic.
The medical equipment includes four incubators for neonatal care, two baby resuscitators, four delivery beds, 30 ward beds, 30 bedside lockers, bins and linen, one resuscitator, one vital organs monitoring machine, one autoclave, and one centrifuge.
The aim of the refurbishment project is to enhance maternal and neonatal healthcare services by upgrading infrastructure, improving service delivery capacity, and equipping the facility with modern medical equipment.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the project, Nedbank Acting Managing Director Heresy Herry said banks must be partners in national development.
“Maternal and child health lies at the heart of sustainable national development. Healthy mothers raise healthy families, and healthy families build resilient communities.
“This project demonstrates that banks must be more than financial institutions; we must be partners in national development.
“Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) allow us to combine public oversight with private sector efficiency, delivering infrastructure that is sustainable and responsive to community needs,” he said.
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume applauded Nedbank’s gesture and called on other corporates to emulate the move.
“We need to appreciate this gesture and call on other corporates to emulate it. Corporates are citizens; they are people and they are citizens of Harare,” he said.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Harare Metropolitan Province, Charles Tawengwa, also applauded Nedbank’s gesture.
“As the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, I view this project as a success story of devolution in action. Devolution is not just a policy; it is a practice where local needs are identified by the community and met through innovative, localised partnerships.
“As government, we are ambitious, but the scale of our ambition requires more than just government effort. This project is a shining example of the role of the private sector in improving health outcomes.
“In this regard, I must commend Nedbank Zimbabwe for their exemplary corporate social investment. When the private sector aligns its resources with public health goals, the impact is huge,” he said.
The clinic is named after Edith Opperman, a midwife who migrated from South Africa to Harare and lived in Mbare near the clinic. She served at the facility for 32 years before retiring and returning to South Africa in 1990, where she died in 1995.
