‘Maruleng’s new ambulances an ANC election gimmick’
Department of Health MEC, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, handed over 60 brand new ambulances to residents in Sekororo, Maruleng in the Greater Letaba area recently.
Alex Matlala
LIMPOPO – There was great jubilation when the Department of Health MEC, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, handed over 60 brand new ambulances to residents in Sekororo, Maruleng in the Greater Letaba area.
Residents complained over the department’s poor service delivery for some time.
However, critics who included some community leaders in Sekororo, claimed the event was an election gimmick billed to give the ANC the upper hand when drumming up votes for the local government elections next year.
About 5 000 people attended the event, which was full of glitz and glamour, followed by songs praising the department.
Addressing the crowd, Ramathupa said most of the ambulances would be directed to health centres and hospitals in far-flung rural areas. She said the national emergency medical services’ (EMS) average response time in urban areas should be 15 minutes and 40 minutes in rural areas. She added that the province has well-trained emergency medical practitioners based at 59 EMS stations across Limpopo.
Ramathuba further stated negotiations between the department and the national Health Department were ongoing to build a new medical school like Medunsa which will realise in 2016.
By launching a new medical school in Limpopo more doctors would be retained in the province after graduating, she said.
Five fully-equipped laundry machines and four forensic vehicles were also handed over to the Sekororo Hospital. “We want to do away with this thing called tender servicing. We want to create jobs by employing our unemployed mothers and fathers in the hospital because we believe they can do a better job.
“Tendering only benefits one person and our government creates jobs and does not enrich just one person,” Ramathuba promised.
Community leader and political activist, Taola Shai, was sceptical. “We have been protesting since the dawn of this year for services such as a shortage of nurses in our clinics but all our protests fell on deaf ears. We need good roads, clean running piped water and police visibility 24 hours a day, to mention a few, but all our pleas are ignored.
“The new ambulances need good drivers and new clinics to go with them,” Shai added.
But area chief, Mahlo Sekororo, applauded the move and said it came at just the right time. Mahlo said the community welcomed the gesture by the department. “Bravo MEC Ramathuba and Premier Stanley Mathabatha,” Sekororo said.
