Water woes in collapsed Komani
September 18th, 2019
There is plenty of water in the Xonxa dam, but due to maladministration, none of it is flowing out of the taps in Komani (formerly Queenstown). The water shortages are the direct result of the continued failure of the Chris Hani District Municipality to deliver on their mandate to deliver bulk water supply to the Enoch Mgijima municipality. As a result, schools have closed, businesses are struggling to keep their …
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R198 million municipal electricity debt placing industry at risk in Enoch Mgijima Municipality
September 10th, 2019 The Enoch Mgijima Municipality owes Eskom over R198 million in debt and has been unable to maintain a payment arrangement entered into with the State-Owned Utility in November last year, as its debt has escalated. Keeping the power on is critical to keeping people in jobs. The Democratic Alliance is fighting tooth and nail to put Enoch Mgijima back on track. As part of this plan, the DA is calling …
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Camdeboo Hospice under threat of closure
August 27th, 2019
The Camdeboo Hospice in Graaff-Reinet, which has been caring for people with dread and terminal illnesses such as HIV, Tuberculosis and cancer for the past 21 years, faces closure in October because of a botched funding tender process. I have written to the MEC for Health, Sindiswa Gomba, to stress the urgency of re-opening the tender process for funding for this crucial service to the greater Graaff-Reinet community. The Department …
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Department of Health have foxes guarding the hen house
August 16th, 2019 Senior officials implicated in corruption around the devastating false medico-legal claims lodged against the Department of Health, should not be part of the premier’s task team to investigate the claims, they should be in jail. Medico-legal claims, in excess of R24-billion, have brought the Department to the brink of collapse, with the Auditor General (AG) raising serious concerns over its financial sustainability. If these officials are included, we will see …
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MEC Nqatha must urgently intervene in Molteno sewage crisis
August 7th, 2019
In the areas of Lankgewag and Dennekruin in Molteno, learners have to wade through raw sewage in order to reach their school. More than five years ago, the sewage plant of Molteno was upgraded, but the pumps feeding the plant were not. They are not powerful enough to pump the sewage up to the plant, so sewage flows backwards and bubbles out of the pumps and into the streets. The …
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Subhuman conditions for cancer patient in Livingstone Hospital
July 12th, 2019
The Eastern Cape Department of Health is failing the people of this province through a wilful disregard in providing the most basic care, and a complete lack of compassion for the sick, the dying and the family of those affected. On the 11th of June, a Port Elizabeth woman waited for five hours in vain for an ambulance to transport her desperately ill brother to Livingstone Hospital. She eventually resorted …
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Transport woes depriving patients of medical care and medication
June 25th, 2019
The situation at the Butterworth Hospital, where many sick and elderly patients wait for a full day, and in some cases even spending the night, for medical attention is testament to the fact that free health care in the Eastern Cape is a myth. I recently conducted an oversight inspection at the hospital and found that many of the patients spend the night in the Outpatients Department (OPD) are not …
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Note to editors: Please find attached a soundbite by Jane Cowley MPL. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape has requested the Eastern Cape Department of Health give feedback, within 14 days, on its plans to remedy the slow response time and shortage of ambulances in Motherwell and other outlying areas of Nelson Mandela Bay. In recent weeks patients from Motherwell have died because Emergency Medical Service (EMS) officials …
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Failing ANC has no respect for the dead
March 18th, 2019 A family from Engcobo who booked a deceased young male for a post mortem at the Mthatha Pathology Laboratory are reeling from the shock that the body of the deceased has gone missing from the facility. And now, several weeks later, the police are seemingly no closer to tracking down the body of the deceased. Is this the way that the government cares for its dead? I have submitted parliamentary …
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Makhanda drowns in sewage
February 26th, 2019 As the municipal workers’ strike continues unabated in Makhanda, residents are being forced to live in conditions that are not even fit for animals. While severe water leakages continue to plague the drought-stricken town, sewage has begun bubbling up out of manholes and running through the streets of the town. Municipal sewage pipes lie broken with polluted water running into the yards of private homes, exposing residents to enormous health …
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