By GRACE CHAILE- LESOETSA
THERE is nothing that hurts so much as to throw a critically ill patient outside the hospital and the nation needs to rise to this inhumane treatment, says TMS Hospital Limited board chairperson Elias Mpondela.
And Mr Mpondela said TMS Hospital is not the borrower of the K18 million debt owed to First Capital Bank but the owners of the building MKP who put it as the third party mortgage.
He said MKP borrowed the K18 million to finance the Heroes estate project which was a joint venture with the National Housing Authority.
On October 12, bailiffs pounced on TMS Hospital over the alleged debt owed to First Capital Bank.
In an interview, Mr Mpondela said it was unfair that TMS Hospital found itself as a third party, evicted when it had nothing to do with the case.
He said TMS Hospital has been a customer of the bank for over 14 years since it began its operations in Zambia and wondered why they had to be treated in such a cruel manner.
“They have been paying K175, 000 per month to the bank as their tenant. And we have been banking with them for over 14 years and we give them good turn over as TMS Hospital. We were given two days to vacate the building without a consideration that we are a health institution and the health of the patients is a priority,” he said.
Mr Mpondela said being a public health facility, First Captial Bank could have given them at least a three months’ notice.
“How do we remove technical equipment, staff, business and the patients? How do you remove patients who are sleeping on a bed getting treatment? This is unfair,” he said.
“They could have at least given us three months, we are not objecting to the fact that we had to move. We went to the court to ask for time while we were paying rent. Do you remove the tenant that is paying rent, why? Just to get out the business, this is abuse. . Do we create a precedence for any health facility that defaults to be treated in such a similar manner, is this fair,” Mr Mpondela said.
He said they had even written to the ministry of Health to intervene.
On September 30, Justice Wilfred Mwila vacated the injunction granted to TMS Hospital restraining First Captial Bank from evicting them from the premises.
Mr Justice Mwila said the bank had given the hospital ample notice and time to get their affairs in order and locate on an alternative property for the hospital.
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