A village in Limpopo’s Vhembe district has had no clinic for 30 years and appears unlikely to be getting one any time soon – with the provincial Health Department showing little interest in changing the status quo, say locals.
The residents of Muswani, in the Collins Chabane local municipality, say they have been struggling to get basic health services for three decades but despite their pleas for a clinic, nothing has been done, writes Israel Nkuna for Health-e News.
One resident said the ward councillor “promised to help, but now he is not interested”.
“It is as if they (government) are not taking us seriously.”
The municipality’s Integrated Development Plan shows plans for a clinic in the village in 2019, but this has never been actioned.
“We have to travel 24km to get to the nearest hospital in Malamulele,” the resident said. “The road is bad, and it takes hours to get there. Sometimes, people die on the way.”
It’s not just the patients who suffer. A home-based care worker told Health-e News he often has to travel well beyond the distance stipulated in his contract.
“Our contracts state that we should not travel more than 5km, but we do. It is exhausting and unfair.”
Unkept promises
David Ngobeni, a leader of the Muswani Concern Group, blames the municipality for the lack of health services.
“Our councillor only visits us when it is time for elections. He makes promises but does not keep them. We are tired of being ignored.”
The residents say the councillor’s lack of accountability is frustrating.
“He told us to seek help from the provincial Department of Health in Limpopo because the municipality has no role to play in building the clinic. But the municipality’s plans show that the clinic should have been built in 2019/2020 and 2021/2022. Clearly that means it has the power to make it happen.”
Both the ward councillor and Collins Chabane Municipality referred Health-e News to the Health Department as the agent responsible for healthcare services.
Neil Shikwambani, Limpopo Health spokesperson, acknowledged the inquiry but didn’t provide any response – despite repeated follow-ups.
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