Mahikeng- In an effort to accelerate the delivery of quality health services to communities of the North West Province, MEC for Health Dr Magome Masike dispersed 17 new ambulances and 2 mobile dental trucks to service rural communities of North West.

Out of these seventeen 17 new ambulances, 7 were allocated to Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District, 5 to Ngaka Modiri Molema District, 3 to Bojanala District and 2 will service Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District.

“The developments come as the department charts ways to aggressively respond to the plight of communities and to improve response time to medical emergencies” MEC Magome Masike said.

A total of R14 million has been set aside to purchase 30 more ambulances during this financial year.

Masike said a further R84.25 million will be channeled towards Emergency Medical Rescue Service (EMRS) Satellite Stations and a new planned patient transport model. “The new model will provide basic transport for patients from clinics to community health centres and hospitals. This would free up ambulances to concentrate on only responding to emergency calls.”

“This together with acquisition of new ambulances will help improve response time as emergency vehicles are placed closer to communities they serve” MEC outlines.

The model was adopted after realising that the majority of cases done by EMRS were not emergencies but patients requiring transport.

Seventy percent of patients that do not have an emergency condition are utilising the services of ambulances to reach hospitals, as they have no access to a coordinated public transport system, resulting in a burden on the already overstretched EMRS System.

To augment the 165 public health ambulances, the department has entered into a fee per service agreement with 16 private ambulances operators to ferry patients during emergencies. Private ambulance operators are only utilized when a state ambulance is not immediately available to respond to an emergency call. This is to ensure that service recipients are not in any way compromised by unavailability of an ambulance.

Ambulances in the province ferry about 16000 patients per month.

The department acquired the services of emergency helicopter in 2013 to augment ambulance services.

“The acquisition of the helicopter has made it possible for emergency transfers from rural areas to be done quickly, as this has cut down on the normal long driving hours. The aeromedical service is not only used to respond to emergencies; it is used for specialized services to remote areas” he said.

In cases where some of our patients in remote areas are in urgent need of specialized services, a specialist will be sent to them via aero medical services.

MEC Masike also unveiled two mobile dental clinics which will help improve access to oral health services in rural and farming communities. The dental clinics have been allocated to Bojanala and Ngaka Modiri Molema Districts. This is in addition to the four that were allocated to sub-districts in 2011 in order to replace the existing old mobiles. These dental mobile clinics are fitted with the state of the art equipments and will be used to provide services to unequipped clinics and schools in the above mentioned districts.

Speaking during the unveiling, MEC Masike said the services provided in these mobile dental clinics are equivalent to services rendered in hospitals, community health centers and equipped clinics.
-TDN
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Nelspruit- Seven people have been killed and one critically injured when a taxi overturned on the R40 near Rockydrift , Nelspruit this morning.
 
When ER24 paramedics arrived, they discovered the wrecked taxi lying in the veld, approximately 10 meters away from the road. 

“Fifteen people lay all around the taxi, seven of the occupants sustaining fatal injuries. The eight other patients all sustained injuries ranging from moderate to critical” ER24 Russel Meiring said.
 
Paramedics had their hands full with the various patients, providing them with advanced life support. 

One of the critically injured patients had to be airlifted by the ER24 helicopter to Rob Ferreira Hospital due to her severe injuries. 

“Once the patients were treated, they were transported to Rob Ferreira hospital for further medical treatment” he said. 

The cause of the collision is not yet known but local authorities were on scene for further investigations. 

This taxi rolled at the same intersection where, a similar incident occurred where 24 people were injured yesterday.
-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Rustenburg- A 32-year-old Algerian national was found in possession of unlicensed firearm following a tip-off from a member of the community. The firearm together with one magazine was found in possession of the suspect after his room was searched by members deployed in Platinum Belt Operation on Thursday.  

Colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said preliminary investigation has revealed that the firearm was stolen in March 2011 at Nkaneng Informal Settlement, near Wonderkop.

The suspect is expected to appear in Marikana Periodical Court soon.

“The Platinum Belt Operation was launched on 16 June 2014 with the strategic objective of stabilisation and normalisation of the area as well as enforcing and maintaining the rule of law.  The community is urged to continue to work together with the police in harmony to bring safety and peace to the area” Mokgwabone said.
-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Mahikeng has an ongoing sewerage problem. The sewerage is running down the streets in Montshioa and in Shippard Street.

The Mahikeng Local Municipality only have one working vehicle to attend to all the water & sanitation problems in Mahikeng.

“They also have no working equipment to fix any problems and are paying outside companies to do the work on their behalf” DA Tiaan Kotze said.

DA said these ongoing problems have caused a public outcry. They said it is a huge health risk. “We are worried that it is going to cause another sanitation situation as was seen in Bloemhof recently.” 

The sewerage problem has escalated due to the fact that 3 pump stations have been without power because Eskom switched off the power due to non-payment, says Kotze.

“Power has been restored to these pump stations but it’s too late. The back-up has had a domino effect and has now caused the whole town to sit with a sewerage problem” he said.

The Democratic Alliance said they will champion this and any other municipal crisis which the public inform them of, they will deal directly with the Municipal Management as well as raising them at the next Council Meeting.
-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Swartruggens- Police are investigating a case of Culpable Homicide  after two vehicles collided and three people died  at Uitspan on the Swartruggens N4  road on Wednesday at approximately 16:00. 

Colonel Emelda Setlhako said a Toyata Avanza  which was travelling from Zeerust to Swartruggens, collided with a Land Cruiser that was travelling from Swartrugges to Zeerust.   

The Toyota Avanza was carrying two occupants while the Land cruiser was carrying three adults and a child. 

“It is further alleged that the driver of Toyata Avanza  was trapped inside the vehicle and it caught fire. The passenger was strewn across the ground.  The driver of the Land cruiser and the three passengers sustained serious injuries while the child died at the Swartruggens  hospital” she said.  

Police investigation continues. 
-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Nelspruit- Twenty four people were injured, one of them critically, when a taxi collided with a light motor vehicle and tour bus on the R40 near Nelspruit this afternoon.                     
ER24 paramedics, along with other services, arrived on scene and found the road blocked by the three vehicles. 

“One woman lay trapped inside the tour bus in a critical condition. 
Occupants from the vehicles lay around the scene, their injuries ranging from minor to moderate” ER24 Russel Meiring said.                     

Paramedics and provincial services worked tirelessly to free the patient before treatment could continue. 

“Once freed, paramedics provided advanced life support to the patient before airlifting her by the ER24 helicopter to Mediclinic Nelspruit for urgent medical treatment. 
The remainder of the patients were treated for their injuries and transported to nearby hospitals for further observations” he said. 

Local authorities were on scene to begin their investigations.
-TDN
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By Obakeng Maje
Taung- Stolen goods found by the owner at a local scrap-yard on Thursday in Taung.

Letlhogonolo Segano,33, is a happy man and said he is very glad that good people still exist. Segano who stays in Depot, near Taung said he was informed by one of the community members that his precious tiles were stolen and being sold at a local scrap-yard.

The scrap-yard is situated in Taung CBD, and owned by foreign nationals.

Steven Mthethwa,32, who is from Mozambique said normally they require I’d documents if one come and sell scrap to them. “We require I’d Document and we put them into our records to show who and when the items were sold. It is very unfortunate to find out that those tiles were stolen” he said.

Segano rushed to a local scrap-yard after a ‘tip-off’ and the community members allegedly tried to apprehend the suspect, but he ran for his life.

Our crew visited the scrap-yard and found a stretcher belonging to Taung hospital still in good condition and other hospital items with bar-code still on. However Mthethwa hesitates to give us the name of the person who sold the items to them.

If our mole’s information is anything to go by, those hospital items were allegedly sold to the scrap-yard by one of the cleaners(who is known to us) at Taung hospital.

Taung police were called but they allegedly arrived two hours later and our attempt to get their response was futile.-TDN
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Mahikeng- It’s all systems go for the newly reconfigured Department of Local Government and Human Settlements following a two-day strategic retreat held over the weekend in Rustenburg.

The aim of the strategic retreat which was attended by managers from the erstwhile Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements, was to craft new strategies for the newly reconfigured department.

Acting Head of the Department, Moss Ikgopoleng Kgantsi, said the intention was to finalize the merger as speedily as possible such that the new department is able to discharge its mandate of supporting municipalities as well facilitating the provision of integrated and sustainable human settlements to communities of the North West.

Kgantsi emphasized the need for a rejuvenated workforce to provide much needed services to our communities.

“We can only provide services as expected if we operate like an oiled machine. We need to clean up our administration so that ultimately we can also get a clean audit. We must create a culture that should distinguish us from all other departments as we are a department that is at the forefront of service delivery. If we respect our working space and ethics, provision of services is guaranteed”, he said.
-TDN
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A man has been shot dead in Marikana, North West police said on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old was walking home on Tuesday afternoon when occupants of a car opened fire and killed him, Colonel Sabata Mokgwabone said.
“The incident happened at around 4.30pm. He was near a playground when he was shot by occupants in a vehicle.” His attackers fled the scene.
Police could not yet reveal the man’s identity, but said a case of murder had been opened.
Mokgwabone could not confirm if the victim was the man mentioned at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday.
The commission heard that Bongani “Bhayi” Mehlonkomo was shot dead in Marikana on Tuesday evening, and that other mineworkers in the area feared for their lives.
Dali Mpofu SC, for miners arrested and wounded during strike-related violence in Marikana in August 2012, said Bhayi was a member of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union. He said police witness “Mr X” had repeatedly mentioned Bhayi at the inquiry, implicating him in the August 2012 murders of police officers and Lonmin security guards.
“There is growing concern among the people that I represent. Speculation in the community is that the assassination is connected to the mentioning of names by Mr X,” Mpofu told the inquiry in Pretoria. “Their fear is that those who have been implicated falsely feel that their lives are under threat. They are not under protection and are vulnerable.”
Mr X is under police protection and may not be identified. He has been testifying via video link from an undisclosed location.
The inquiry, chaired by retired judge Ian Farlam, is investigating the deaths of 44 people during strike-related unrest at Lonmin’s platinum mining operations in Marikana in 2012.
Police shot dead 34 people, mostly striking mineworkers, and wounded 70, on August 16, 2012. In the preceding week,
10 people including the two policemen and two security guards, were killed.
-Sapa