Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Transport and Communications Minister Brian Mushimba whose decision to post a photo of himself with South African nurses following his discharge from hospital has sparked a social media uproar says no public funds were used to treat his broken hand.
The Minister was involved in an accident last month and was admitted to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) before he was evacuated to South Africa for specialist treatment.
Responding to his critics on social media using his twitter account, Mr Mushimba says he went to South Africa for treatment accompanied by his wife alone to keep the costs low.
He says every bill that was handed to him and his wife while in South Africa was paid out of their personal funds and that they have receipts to prove this.
Mr Mushimba explains that after the accident, UTH did their best to stabilize him having lost a lot of blood after his hand was crushed and damaged beyond redemption, with bones,nerves,ligament and soft tissue damaged.
He says it was suggested by the Doctors at UTH that the hand be amputated before a second opinion was given for him to be evacuated to South Africa
He states that his experience has enabled him to see the need to accelerate access to specialized treatment in the country, saying no Zambian should lose their arm if it can be saved.
Mr Mushimba has since offered himself as an additional voice on the need to accelerate access to specialized treatment for all Zambians.
The Minister who had also blocked some of his critics on twitter who criticized him for posting the photo of his discharge with South African nurses has unreservedly apologized and promised to unblock those he blocked as a way of opening a new page on friendship and online interactions.
He says after much reflection, he has realized his part in the storm surrounding his being discharged from hospital.