Kasungu District Council has invested K839 million from the Performance-Based Grant Funds into a paying clinic to boost the council’s revenue and improve healthcare services.
Kasungu District director of health services Emmanuel Golombe said on Monday that the project is a response to people’s demand.
“We sometimes have funding gaps. So this initiative will help us raise resources to buy important items like fuel and critical drugs,” he said.
Glombe also said the district, which serves about 300 clients per day, has been facing a demand for paying services.
“Those rushing to work, or are on medical schemes or can just afford to pay for private services find it difficult to wait for long hours. So this project properly responds to their needs,” he said.
Speaking after touring the construction works, National Local Government Finance Committee senior planning officer Charity Kaunda expressed hope that the contractor will deliver a quality structure.
“Our desire is to see that councils are using the resources that they get under this fund to address the community service gaps by implementing projects that can stand the test of time,” she said.
Funded by the World Bank through the Governance to Enable Service Delivery project, the funds are given to well performing councils.
The paying clinic, which is expected to be completed by December 31 this year, will have an out-patient department and an admission ward, among other facilities
