No answers about ‘white elephant’ clinic

The facility could have made a big difference in this struggle. Residents of Khutsong Extension 5 say they were hopeful when a large state of the art clinic was built in this residential area. However, their hope soon turned to dismay when the clinic just never opened to the public. “The clinic was already finished in 2017 but it is still closed. It doesn’t make sense, as the government is running out of space to deal with the pandemic. This facility should have been used to help in this difficult time. People from around here must travel all the way to Welverdiend or the Khutsong Main Clinic for care, while this beautiful place is right next to them,” says a community leader from this area, Mr Thomas Maboye. On Friday, he showed the Herald how the lovely facility was going to ruin, right under the residents’ noses. The clinic is the largest around Merafong and, in places, its main section is two storeys high. Brand new equipment, like an expensive dentist’s chair, is still sitting unused, covered in plastic wrapping. According to Maboye, the clinic was initially left unguarded. As a result, thieves have already plun- dered much of the equipment in the facility, including security cameras and cables. Since a year ago, how-ever, a local security company has been guarding the facility. “Without them, there would be nothing left,” says Maboye. Maboye and other residents of the area are very unhappy that the clinic is still not open. They are also concerned that many local people could have been employed at the facility. The Herald took the concerns to the Merafong City Municipality, which announced that the clinic would be opened in 2019. They later retracted their statement. The municipal spokesperson said the municipality had no knowledge in this regard. The spokesperson of the Department of Health in the West Rand, Ms Nomagugu Hloma, had not responded to questions on the matter before the time the newspaper went to print.