Local Government Minister July Moyo has accused opposition councillors at Redcliff Town House of stalling progress on the refurbishment of former ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao's hospital.

Redcliff Municipality through devolution funds recently acquired Torwood Hospital and Bell Medical Centre which were owned by Chihombori-Quao, a former representative of the African Union Mission to the United States.

She had bought the two facilities from Ziscosteel which was facing financial challenges.

Moyo said the government was prepared to assist Redcliff in running the medical facility and only needed a letter of commitment from council; a request which the minister said was never honoured.

"As government our position is that Torwood Hospital must be resuscitated as part of our broader plan to have access to quality health for all. Last year President Emerson Mnangagwa said we must purchase through devolution funds Redcliff Hospital from Arikana Chihombori, who had bought the hospital from Ziscosteel and closed it," he said.

Moyo, an aspiring Zanu PF MP for Redcliff claimed the 'sabotage' was a ploy by the opposition to rile the electorate ahead of the August 23 elections.

He added: "I once visited Redcliff with the deputy Minister of Health and told them we had handed over the hospital to them. We however raised reservations on their ability to run it so the government decided to chip in and have the government run the hospital. We were expecting to get a letter from the council but nothing happened. We realized the opposition councillors were not forwarding the letter as they wanted to sabotage development so that people in Redcliff would be pained by the development and vote against the current government."