BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Government has pumped an amount of E15 million in sponsoring the construction of the outpatient department (OPD) of Good Shepherd Hospital in Siteki.
The OPD is still under construction and it was seen by Prime Minister Russell Mmiso Dlamini yesterday when he went to officiate the graduation ceremony of the Good Shepherd College of Health Sciences. Speaking about the project on his Facebook page, Dlamini said he was briefed on the progress of the project when he toured the Good Shepherd Hospital.
Dlamini toured the hospital first before attending the graduation at the college, which is within a stone’s throw away from the medical centre. “Before attending the graduation ceremony, I had the opportunity to tour the Good Shepherd Hospital where a state-of-the-art Outpatient department is being constructed. This project has been supported by Government to the value of approximately E15 Million,” Dlamini said.
The Prime Minister said His Majesty’s Government would try all possible means to ensure that this new wing was completed soon for the people of Lubombo to start enjoying healthcare services in a comfortable environment.
The Premier also had the opportunity to tour the modern Eye Clinic and High Dependency Unit of the medical institution. “It was gratifying to learn that the eye clinic now services people from neighbouring countries such as Mozambique and South Africa due to the specialised eye care services offered. I congratulated the hospital for being listed by the Ministry of Health as a renal dialysis unit for the Lubombo region,” he said.
He said this would bring huge relief to the people who need these services as they had to travel long distances to access these services. He also stated that His Majesty’s Government was grateful to the Roman Catholic Church in the country for complementing Government in the discharge of its mandate and responsibility to provide quality, affordable, equitable and accessible social healthcare and education services.
“The Good Shepherd Hospital and College are important strategic partners to Government.
Government will continue to support institutions such as the Good Shepherd, which not only embrace accountability but are also transparent in their dealings,” Dlamini said.
The Head of Government had the honour to officiate at the graduation ceremony of the Nursing and Occupational Safety and Health Class of 2023 at the college. He also saw himself as being privileged to inaugurate the new Occupational Safety and Health Skills Lab and Classrooms.
He said His Majesty’s Government placed health care at the centre of the national development agenda. Therefore, it was pleasing to witness the injection of yet another group of young health professionals into our healthcare system. This increase in the number of qualified healthcare professionals should also translate into improved quality healthcare and more accessibility to health services, especially in the rural and underserved areas of the Kingdom, according to the PM.
He congratulated the Class of 2023 for reaching this milestone and encouraged them to embrace the spirit of excellence and live their purpose as they embark on a new journey of job seeking. He told them this is not the end of their educational journey, but only the beginning. He then advised the leaders of Good Shepherd College to consider increasing enrolment for the sustainability of the institution. “I further called for a mindset shift in the manner in which institutions produce graduates, where graduates should not only be produced to target the local job market, but also the global space,” he said.
