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By OBAKENG MAJE

Taung District Hospital continues to be under siege for all wrong reasons. This comes after the hospital allegedly failed to provide a referral transportation to ferry patients to Klerksdorp/Tshepong Complex on Monday.

Patients with some ‘chronic diseases and disabilities’ were left stranded at Taung District Hospital after being told that their referral transportation had been broken. Some patients were up in arms and allegedly stormed into the hospital CEO, Tumediso Setlhodi’s office demanding answers.

One of the patients who refused to be named for fear of reprisal said: “We arrived at the hospital in the early hours of Monday morning, but we were only told about the broken transport at around 6am.

“Truly, we are crestfallen on how the hospital has handled this matter. We were supposed to be on our way to Klerksdorp now, however, we are still stuck here because of the hospital management’s incompetence. They should have the audacity to call us before time rather than treat us in this inhumane manner.”

Another patient shared the same sentiments. She said the least the hospital management could have done was to be more professional and inform them on time. Now, we will miss our referrals because of this unsavoury behaviour. We urge the hospital management to treat us like human beings please.

“They need to understand that transportation is an important social determinant of health especially in rural communities. By the way, this is not my first time experiencing this kind of treatment. They do care less and continue to fail us dismally. I guess it is about time we see an overhaul of the whole hospital management,” said the patient.  

Meanwhile, the North West Health department spokesperson, Tebogo Lekgethwane said: “The department can confirm that there was a delay in ferrying of the patients for referral. However, there was a meeting with those affected yesterday morning and the matter was resolved.

“There was a vehicle breakdown at Klerksdorp on Friday and unfortunately, the transport office failed to inform the referral office to inform patients that there will be no transport yesterday morning and that only renal patients were prioritized with the use of a private vehicle.”

taungdailynews@gmail.com

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By OBAKENG MAJE

Former North West MEC for Finance, Wendy Nelson has breathed a ‘sigh of relief’ after she was acquitted of fraud by the North West High Court sitting in Mafikeng on Tuesday. Nelson was arrested alongside the former Head of Department (HoD) at the North West Health Department, Dr Thabo Lekalakala.

The two were acquitted on a charge of fraud related to the appointment of Lekalakala to the position of Superintendent-General in the Department of Health, wherein Nelson was chairing the panel during the interview.

The state’s case was that Nelson had knowledge of Lekalakala’s misrepresentation on the job application form (Z83) but went on to recommend him for this senior position to the then North West Premier, Supra Mahumapelo.

“My heart is sore because of my dad who kept asking me if I will be fine. However, he could not be here to experience this. I believe he just sees from the top because he passed away seven months ago and it is painful that I have been vindicated,” she said.  

 

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Judge Ronald Hendricks said: “The state failed to prove that the accused unlawfully, forcedly and intentionally defrauded either the North West Department of Health when the then North West Premier, Supra Mahumapelo appointed the accused number one as Head of the Department.

“He did not need requirements to be appointed. So, the state failed to prove the guilt of accused number one beyond any reasonable doubt that he unlawfully and intentionally stole money in the amount of over R7 million from the department of health. No case whatsoever was made out in this regard.”

Hendricks further said consequently, both accused are therefore found not guilty and were discharged on the main count of fraud. He also found not guilty the accused number one and discharged him on the alternative count of theft.

Meanwhile, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson, Henry Mamothamme said they welcome the judgement, however a thorough study of the judgement will be undertaken.

“This process will afford the state time to make an informed decision to establish if there isn’t a need for further action,” he said.

The ANC Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) spokesperson, Kenny Morolong said they welcome the judgement against Nelson. He said Nelson will be incorporated back into the ANC structure. 

Nelson was appointed as a member of the ANC IPC in August 2019 and she stepped-aside from her leadership responsibilities earlier this year following her arrest.

“The ANC commends Nelson for her discipline and cooperation at a time when the organisation enjoined her to step aside from her leadership responsibilities so that she can clear her name.

“Whilst the ANC believes in the legal principle of presumption of innocence, we also firmly believe that cadres of the ANC who are formally charged for corruption or other serious crimes must immediately step aside from all leadership positions pending the finalization of their criminal cases,” he said. 

Morolong said in the light of this judgment, the IPC officials will formally engage Nelson with a view of re-incorporating her into their formal structures.

He further said they also wish to reaffirm their confidence in the ability of the courts to dispense justice without fear, favour or prejudice.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

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By OBAKENG MAJE

North West Premier, Bushy Maape said he has confidence in the incoming councils that they will change the face of local government in the province. This comes after most municipalities in the province are regarded as dysfunctional.

According to the News24 Out of Order Index, calculated from a set of data painstakingly collated over the last two months, suggests that the crisis in the frontline of service delivery is likely to deepen.

The News24 Out of Order Index suggests a further 43 municipalities across the country are deep in the danger zone of collapse and the Greater Taung Local Municipality is one of them. The municipality failed to submit its annual financial statement as required by Section 126(1)(a) of the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003.

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“The 43 are municipalities which have not already been named in other officially published lists from the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) department or the Auditor-General as being delinquent or under administration.”

However, Maape said the provision of services such as water, housing and roads will top the agenda of the province.

“Through the District Development Model government, we will attract investment and this will result in the creation of jobs. We are a predominantly rural province and we need to spend the little resources we have wisely.

“This includes putting systems in place to ensure the financial stability of municipalities. I am confident that the incoming councils will comprise people who are ethical and qualified,” he said.  

Maape also implored the incoming councillors to be of service to the communities who have entrusted them with their votes and to fight the challenges of unemployment and poverty gripping many localities.

He further said his government has commissioned Taung Dam and this will allow residents to have access to clean and drinkable water.

“It is almost complete and residents will be allowed to get water from it. The dam has been commissioned and the project will kick-starts within two months. This will assist us to deal with lack of provision of water.

“The new cohort of councillors was selected through a rigorous process by the ANC. The ruling party had involved communities and requested those councillor candidates’ curriculum vitae (CVs),” said Maape.

He maintained that the new type of breed of incoming councillors is different from the older ones. Maape added that his provincial government will not allow parallel structures across municipalities.

“We saw parallel structures in Tswaing Local Municipality where there were two municipal managers, two mayors and two chief whips. So, we did not hesitate to dissolve that municipality. We cannot have parallel administration within the municipalities,” said Maape.

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