New Villa Liza clinic ensures Hani’s legacy lives on

According to Ekurhuleni Mayor Clr Mondli Gungubele, the opening of the clinic was true to the ideals firmly held by apartheid stalwart Hani, whose legacy was being commemorated on April 10, the day he was assassinated in Dawn Park 23 years ago.

The Ekurhuleni Metro has declared April Chris Hani Month and uses it to mobilise all sectors of society observe the ideals of a remarkable leader whose life was cut short before the dawn of democracy.

One of these ideals, the mayor said, encompasses matters relating to Housing, Health and Hunger, that Hani stood for.

“We would, therefore, not do justice to his honour if we were to gather at his grave without touching the lives of the people, and that is the significance of this clinic today.

“As a metro we continue to strive to address issues of hunger, housing and health. In fact, this clinic is one of the 52 health care facilities using eHealth, an electronic health records system, which enables patients’ health profiles to be registered and accessible in all health care facilities anywhere in city,” said the mayor.

The opening of Villa Lisa Clinic brought jubilation to residents from Villa Liza, Windmill Park, Wolf Informal Settlement and Rooikraal who, like Mayena Sibiya (74), used to walk close to 4km to access primary healthcare.

“This is a government that knows what its people want. We used to travel long and far to access healthcare, but that is now a thing of the past,” said Sibiya.

The mayor revealed that Ekurhuleni recently represented Gauteng in a test of ideal clinics.

“Of 10 clinics, four ideal clinics were from Ekurhuleni. This indicates that we take health very seriously, as articulated by Chris Hani,” Gungubele said.

Furthermore, about 300 houses will be handed over as part of Chris Hani Month.

Operational hours for the new Villa Liza Clinic are from Monday to Friday, between 8am and 4.30pm.