“It works one day, and breaks down the next.”
By Joseph Mwape | Luwingu District
When Luwingu Town Council procured a digital X-ray machine for Luwingu District Hospital using 2023 Constituency Development Fund (CDF), aat a cost of K1.2 million, it was celebrated as a major boost to healthcare for thousands of residents.
The announcement, made on June 4, 2024, raised hope among hospital staff and the wider community. For years, patients in Luwingu had endured long, costly journeys to access basic radiography services outside the district.
But the relief was short-lived.
Just months after installation, the X-ray machine began frequently breaking down, forcing patients to once again seek services elsewhere, at their own cost. What was meant to ease suffering instead added new financial and emotional burdens.
On May 12, 2025, District Commissioner Chomba Chileshe briefed Provincial Permanent Secretary Bernard Mpundu about the situation. An additional K60,000 in public funds was reportedly paid to cover missing components, but the machine remained faulty. Mpundu would later describe the situation bluntly: “theft.”
A week later, Provincial Minister Leonard Mbao, accompanied by senior district and health officials, assured the public that the machine would be fully operational by the end of May 2025.
That promise was never fulfilled.
By September 27 2025, hospital management confirmed that the machine was still breaking down. Traditional leader Chief Chipalo and residents have since added their voices, expressing anger and frustration over what they see as wasted public resources.
More troubling still, a source from Samfya District revealed a similar experience with an X-ray machine supplied by the same company.
Efforts to obtain answers from the procurement committee, including council and hospital officials, were repeatedly frustrated. Authorities declined to disclose the identity of the contractor. Eventually, an official quietly directed the radio station to the supplier.
The company behind the deal is EnsureMed Equipment Ltd, whose director is Naresh Puskoori. While the supplier insists the machine is functional, hospital authorities and patients tell a very different story.
Access the full investigation by Lwansase Radio in Luwingu |
K1.2 million spent.
Promises made.
Patients still waiting.
This story was produced by Lwansase Radio Station in Luwingu and fact-checked by MakanDay.
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