RESIDENTS of Mpheni village in Elim say the department of health spent R8,3 million on a “white elephant clinic” that the community cannot use.
They claimed that, although building work on the clinic finished two years ago, the clinic still stood unused.
According to community leader, Jackson Musingadi, a construction company was employed by the department in May 2011 to build the clinic, and the completion date was set for 2012. At the time, the project employed 46 residents from Mpheni village as temporary workers.
Musingadi said the building was still incomplete and the department paid a security company to protect the buildings.
The villagers were desperate for the clinic to be completed so that they could access much needed basic health services, he added.
According to Musingadi, the villagers tried many routes to convince the department to finish the construction and start using the building. “We have written several letters to the department and tried contacting officials, but our pleas fall on deaf ears.”
CV spoke to health spokesperson, Adéle van der Linde, who said the department was aware of the problems at the Mpheni Clinic.
Van der Linde said building on the clinic was not finished and therefore the clinic could not be handed over to the department. “The service provider, the construction company, must first comply with their contract before the department can take ownership of the clinic.”
