Another public hospital in
Swaziland / eSwatini has run out of food and patients have been left hungry
because bills to suppliers have not been paid.
The Swazi Government is in
financial meltdown and public services across the kingdom are grinding to a
halt.
The Hlatikhulu Government Hospital has run out of food and patients are being
fed thin porridge for supper, the Times
of Swaziland reported on Wednesday (6 February
2019).
It
added patients had been told to get
their relatives to supply them with food or to send people to buy them food at
nearby outlets.
The Times reported the hospital could not pay its suppliers. It added
it did not know how much was owed but ‘certain suppliers have not been paid yet
they had been owed for years’.
It reported, ‘A spot check
conducted yesterday unearthed that some patients had been able to carry on with
only a plate of soft porridge which was served in the morning. A woman found at
the maternity ward said even on the previous day, they were only served soft
porridge for supper.’
It added there was only
enough food in the kitchen for one day.
It said, ‘A staffer, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the situation was so dire such
that patients might have nothing to eat from today onwards.’
Previously, it was reported
Mbabane Government Hospital had run out of food because of unpaid bills. The Times
of Swaziland reported in September 2018 patients only had apples and juice. It was unclear
how much money was owed.
The newspaper reported Dr
Simon Zwane, Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Health, said there was ‘no
food for the patients because the ministry had not paid the catering company
that provides food for the hospital’.
In December 2018 it was
reported that the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Mbabane
Government Hospital was
close to shut-down because equipment was not being maintained.
People were dying because of this, it was reported.
The Government is broke and public services across the kingdom have been run into the ground. The Times of Swaziland reported at the time, ‘A medical staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that they had on countless occasions raised the issue of the unfixed machines and that the response they received was that there was no money.’
The Government is broke and public services across the kingdom have been run into the ground. The Times of Swaziland reported at the time, ‘A medical staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that they had on countless occasions raised the issue of the unfixed machines and that the response they received was that there was no money.’
Health services across Swaziland are in crisis. In
September 2018 it was reported at least six
children in Swaziland had died from diarrhoea and many more were
sick because the government was broke and could not pay for vaccines. It would
cost US$6 for the vaccine to immunise a child.
Medicines of all sorts have run out in public
hospitals and health clinics across Swaziland.
In July 2018 it was reported that Swazipharm,
Swaziland’s largest distributor of pharmaceutical products and medical
equipment to the healthcare system in the kingdom,
could not buy new stocks because the Ministry of Health had not paid
its bill. Swazipharm Sales and Marketing Manager Cindy Stankoczi confirmed it
had cut the supply of drugs to local health institutions.
In June 2018 it was revealed there were only
12 working public ambulances in the whole of Swaziland to serve the
population of about 1.2 million people because the government failed to
maintain them. It had bought no new ambulances since 2013.
Meanwhile, King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as one
of the world’s last absolute monarchs wore a watch
worth US$1.6 million and a suit
beaded with diamonds weighing 6 kg, at his 50th birthday
party in April 2018. Days earlier he took delivery of his second private jet, a
A340 Airbus, that after VIP upgrades
reportedly cost US$30 million. He received E15 million (US$1.2
million) in cheques, a
gold dining room suite and a gold
lounge suite among his birthday gifts.
Seven in ten of Swaziland’s population live in abject
poverty with incomes less than the equivalent of US$2 per day. The King has 13
palaces. He also owns fleets of top-of-the range Mercedes and BMW cars. His
family regularly travel the world on shopping
trips spending millions of dollars each time.
See also
Children at risk of food poisoning as Swaziland Govt’s financial crisis continues
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/01/children-at-risk-of-food-poisoning-as.html Children at risk of food poisoning as Swaziland Govt’s financial crisis continues
Swazi
Govt ‘runs out of cash’
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