NetOne and TelOne have been praised for partnering to assist the Government by mobilizing resources towards the mitigation and containment of COVID-19 as part of their Corporate Social Investment (CSI).
Speaking at the handover ceremony of a fully equipped and refurbished Ward B5 at Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo on Monday, on behalf of Minister Jenfan Muswere, the Deputy Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Mr. Dhingumuzi Phuti said the ICT sector plays a critical role as a key enabler that supports all other economic activities across all sectors.
“As the ICT Sector, we have a critical role to play as a key enabler that supports all other economic activities across all sectors through ICTs. This pandemic has become a spring board that has seen my Ministry as well as all key players under my purview, accelerating digital innovations that seek to promote telecommuting and remote working, in order to reduce contact risk and curb the spread of the virus.”he said.
“This pandemic has become a springboard that has seen my Ministry in conjunction with players under our purview accelerating digital innovations that seek to promote telecommuting and remote working in order to reduce contact risk and curb the spread of the virus,” Hon. Phuti said.
Our economic recovery as a nation, he added, will be leveraged on rebuilding through smart technologies premised on ICTs.
NetOne Acting Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Chipo Jaisson said “Our intervention focused on four critical aspects that addressed both immediate and long terms needs. The first one being the Provision of Protective Personnel Equipment (PPE) to improve the protection of front line Health Professionals. It is important to note that the demand for these highly consumable lines, largely exceeds the supply of the same given their frequency of use as well as disposable nature.
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“This requires combined efforts from various stakeholders in order to effectively contribute towards the safety of front line health professionals as they support people affected/ infected by the virus. As such, I am happy to advise that NetOne & Telone procured various PPE and sanitizers which have already been handed over to the 3 facilities in May for onward disbursement to their frontline personnel,” Ms. Jaisson said.
The fourth critical focus area was around the Adoption of Wards at Sally Mugabe and Mpilo Hospital for Refurbishments. These are 2 of the largest referral hospitals that attend to huge patient volumes coming from the 2 major cities – Harare and Bulawayo and their surrounding areas.
Mrs. Chipo Mutasa, the TelOne Managing Director said “we will be handing over 5 ICU beds to assist the hospital to cater to patients that may require high dependency or intensive care support.
“We are confident that the Newly refurbished and modernized ward being unveiled today, will make our public health facilities more appealing and allow them to accommodate more patients in a clean and aesthetic environment, as well as provide affordable health care to the general populace that may not be able to access private health care,” Mrs. Mutasa added.
