EFF members conducts an oversight visit at Zola Clinic

EFF Gauteng Provincial Command Team Member, Boitumelo Makhene alongside with the EFF Leadership conducted an oversight visit at Ward 52, Zola Clinic on March 06.

This occurs after a handful of employees and representatives from several trade unions staged a protest outside the medical facility to voice their displeasure with the institution’s condition.

According to Makhene, the political party decided to conduct an oversight inspection after learning about the employees protest concerning the state of the facility.

She said what was discovered during the oversight is an emergency that requires the MEC of Health to step in.

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“The clinic is in such poor condition that it could be best described as a mortuary.

“Patients who come here for health care services run the risk of dying because, firstly the ceiling is collapsing, the infrastructure is unacceptable and the conditions of the toilets are also appalling.

“So it is inhumane and unfair for the public to use this place as a medical facility,” said Makhene.

During the visit, Zola Clinic staff members revealed that the facility has been without water for a period of time and also majority of the toilets are not working.

This, according to them has caused both employees and patients to utilize buckets as makeshift toilets.

The staff further stated that the clinic does not have a generator and that causes them to perform inadequate services during load shedding.

There is also a major staff shortage in both administrative and cleaning positions which contributes to the clinic’s dirtiness as well as slowness in providing patient care.

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Speaking to Urban News, Moses Mphahlele from the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) said according to his knowledge the facility needs to be temporarily closed in order to be demolished and rebuilt afresh so that it can be aligned with the Departmental prescriptions.

“We have been in this institution from last week, trying to engage with the management but unfortunately nothing has come of it.

“Yesterday afternoon we agreed that we will hold a follow-up meeting today where the Department of Labor, Infrastructure as well as the provincial management will be invited to at least try to establish grounds for intervening in this institution’s situation,” said Mphahlele.

Mphahlele added that Section Eight of the Occupational Health and Safety Act clearly states that the employer is obligated to provide and maintain a conducive work environment that is safe and without risk to the health employee.

However from where they are sitting, they cannot claim that the working environment is conducive because people are using buckets to relieve themselves.

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In a short meeting that was held before EFF members conducted an oversight assessment, Sub-District Manager, Mariah Mazibuko stated that approximately 90% of the challenges that the clinic faces are a result of DID’s slow response to their problems.

“We are going to write to the MEC of health, we are going to bombard her with questions because we have evidence of the facility’s poor condition.

“During the oversight assessment that we have conducted, we discovered something undesirable.

“So we are going to write a statement and include the Zola community as they are also impacted. Right now I believe that this institution needs to be closed,” concluded Makhene.