Mpumalanga government to arm hospitals

The Mpumalanga government has decided to deploy armed guards to all provincial hospitals and public healthcare centres in the province, the Ridge Times has reported.

These include the provincial hospitals in Bethal and Evander, as well as the local clinics.

According to Joseph Mabuza of the legislature’s communication directorate, this decision was made after a number of robberies that took place in various health facilities over the past few months.

Messrs Gillion Mashego, MEC for health, Eric Kholwane, MEC for finance, and Pat Ngomane, MEC for community safety and security and liaison, held a meeting on June 4, during which a security situational analysis was conducted on safety at all the health facilities.

The meeting resolved that armed guards will be deployed with immediate effect to ensure the safety of patients, doctors and nurses, among others.

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