Misused clinic toilet facilities have patients up in arms
Patients and residents who rely on the government’s clinic in the Nkomazi subregion are forced to use buckets to relieve themselves, due to the poor state of the facility’s toilets.
MZINTI – The community members who informed Mpumalanga News about this, claimed the toilets were blocked and old.
“One of the toilets, used by almost 50 patients, has been blocked for years. Smelly water, used condoms and human waste are inside. Truly, these toilets can collapse at any time,” said Monica Shongwe, a community member.
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This clinic is one of the oldest buildings in the area and thousands of Mzinti, Ntunda and Tonga community members make use of its services.
The residents are calling on the Mpumalanga Department of Health to consider building new facilities. The department’s spokesperson, Chris Nobela, refuted the claims that the toilets were old.
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“Mzinti Clinic was renovated and handed over to the community last year. The toilets are usable and have no foul smell as alleged,” he said.
However, upon further investigation conducted by the reporter, there were a number of blocked toilets, which other community members claimed were damaged by some unruly members of the public.
“Yes, we can blame government and the department all we want, but the truth and reality is that some of our members can’t really look after such facilities meant to help us. These toilets were all fine just a while ago, but were damaged by some of us,” said Lucky Nkosi, a Mzinti resident.
