Controversial tenderpreneur Wicknell Chivayo has said he does not donate to the country’s dilapidated hospitals because he does not work for the Ministry of Health and Child Care and will thus continue buying luxury cars for those that endear themselves to him.
The country’s hospitals have come under fresh scrutiny in recent weeks, after Youth Empowerment Minister Tinoda Machakaire’s call for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to urgently address the dire situation in public hospitals.
Machakaire took to social media to lament the deteriorating conditions in public hospitals after his relative sought medical attention at one such facility. He urged President Mnangagwa to visit public hospitals personally to witness the crisis firsthand.
Some questioned why Chivayo, who has been on a spending spree over the last few years, gifting luxury vehicles to a wide spectrum of individuals across the country, was not transferring his benevolence to the country’s ailing health sector.
Replying to one social media user who posed the question to him, Chivayo said he was not obligated to help out.
“Handisi Minister of Health anoona nezve zipatara munyika uye handishamdire Ministry iyoyo. Mota ndinotengera wandada nenguva yandinoda uye vamwe ndino nyora vakawanda veku church handi nyore saka ndinzwisise Chikomana ini ndinoita zvandinoda ne mari yangu.
“Iwe chitengawo ma pain killers woendesa ku zvipatara, handinga goni zvese ndiri one,” Chivayo wrote.
The fury with Chivayo however comes from critics who accuse him of looting millions in public funds from corruptly acquired government tenders.
Many feel the money he is dishing out is effectively public funds that are meant to be funding hospitals among other essential public services.