The ambulances that Namadingo wants repaired at Mangochi District Hospital
* The trainees could do the work supervised by their instructors and a technocrat from Toyota Malawi
* It would be a precious internship opportunity to the trainees and give them immerse knowledge and skills
* This follows the fiasco that was roused by music artist Patience Namadingo over his frustration in failing to secure an unbooked for appointment with Mangochi District Hospital administrators in order to repair broken down ambulances
By Duncan Mlanjira
An analyst has suggested that perhaps the Technical Entrepreneurial Vocational Education & Training Authority (TEVETA) — along with technical colleges of Lilongwe, Livingstonia, Mzuzu, Nasawa and Soche — should consider using motor vehicle mechanics trainees to repair as their practicals idle government cars.
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This follows the fiasco that was roused by music artist Patience Namadingo over his frustration in failing to secure an unbooked for appointment with Mangochi District Hospital administrators in order to repair broken down ambulances.
The analyst, whom we do not name, observes that not all motor vehicle mechanics trainees at the technical colleges manage to get a place for industrial attachment.
“My suggestion is get in touch with the TEVETA director of training of these colleges to be providing a team of final year trainees sampled from these colleges who can be assigned the task of repairing these vehicles and ambulances at all hospitals in Malawi.
“The trainees could do the work supervised by their instructors and a technocrat from Toyota Malawi. It would be a precious internship opportunity to the trainees and give them immerse knowledge and skills. I strongly believe other well-wishers will joins hands with you for this noble cause,” he said.
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According to reports, Namadingo had planned to discuss his initiative to rehabilitate the ambulances after he posted on Facebook pictures of the broken down ambulances last Sunday, with the message: “All these ambulances are dead in Mangochi? I have decided to go find a way to fix all.
“The people of Mangochi and surrounding areas seriously need the ambulances running tomorrow I leave for Mangochi. I will fix them all,” he pledged.
Then the following day, he reported that he attempted to reach the Director of Health Services through a phone call at 11h00 on his way to Mangochi, which he claimed was not picked — prompting him to visit the facility at noon.
However, he reported that his efforts to meet with key officials failed as the Director’s secretary told him he hadn’t reported for work and that when Namadingo asked to meet with the hospital administrator, he was told he was out for lunch — and that was at 14h40.
The district medical officer was also reportedly unavailable, having gone to Monkey Bay on official business and due to the unavailability of these key personnel, Namadingo and his team decided to extend their stay in Mangochi to try and meet the officials the following day.
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The incident has sparked hot debate on social media with some critics pointing to a broader issue, suggesting that the unavailability of key officials is symptomatic of a larger problem within the civil service, where attendance and punctuality seem lax.
However, others feel Namadingo should have followed formal protocols by booking an appointment with the hospital administrators.
“Namadingo did the right thing,” said one commentator on social media. “Those advocating protocol are not calling it in good faith — they want to hide skeletons in the cabinet.
“If that was a private hospital, can an issue like this arise? It is plain that services or rather performance by supervisors at public institutions is highly compromised. Instead of saying it has been noted and an investigation will be instituted, you want to apportion the blame to a whistle-blower?“
However, all is now water under the bridge as Mangochi District Council has advised musician, Patience Namadingo to put in writing his request to fix the grounded ambulances.
Acting District Commissioner (DC) for Mangochi, Davie Chigwenembe
Speaking to members of the media soon after the meeting, acting District Commissioner (DC) for Mangochi, Davie Chigwenembe said the Council has welcomed Namadingo’s gesture, saying: “It is not possible for us just to release the ambulances without procedures — hence the need for him to write us, and from there we will advise him accordingly.”
Currently, Mangochi District Hospital has 23 ambulances, 14 of which are runners, while nine are non-runners and according to Chigwenembe, five out of the nine non-runners are serviceable, and processes to have them maintained is underway.
In his remarks, Namadingo described the meeting with Council officials as fruitful, saying it has provided him with the direction and information on the way forward.
Namadingo inspecting the ambulances
“I am excited with the direction that the council has provided, and I will proceed as advised,” he said. “This is not the first time for me to do this, I have done the same in other districts like Chikwawa and Mwanza.
“I am not doing this as a celebrity, but as a citizen of the country,” Namadingo said
Following protocol was also suggested in the social media debate, with one analyst observing that it seems the message from Namadingo was being deliberately misunderstood.
“Patience did not make a mistake by going straight to the hospital,” said the analyst. “The District Commissioner’s office is not far from the hospital. If protocol was not properly followed, the secretary should have advised Patience on the correct procedure and take him to the DC.”—Reporting from Mangochi District Council by Lyte Ali & Ralph Chinomba, MANA
