Picture: The handover ceremony of construction sites at Joe Morolong Memorial Hospital in Vryburg/Supplied  

By OBAKENG MAJE

The CEO of Joe Morolong Memorial Hospital in Vryburg, Portia Tlou said the construction of bulk water supply and refurbishment of the Club House into student accommodation, will enhance the provision of quality health care services, eradicate challenges relating to water shortages and lack of student accommodation.

This comes after the hospital was handed over sites to drill a borehole and refurbish a Club House into student accommodation.

“Our hospital currently has a reservoir with 500 000 litres capacity, which functions on average of 80% supplied by the municipality. There are also additional six JoJo tanks with 10 000 litres of water. However, the situation became severe when the contingency plan could not keep up with the demand.

“So, as part of resolving the water crisis in the hospital, a geo-hydrological survey was conducted in order to establish a groundwater source. A suitable place was identified in an area located on a golf course, which is a private area,” she said.

Tlou further said, a borehole was drilled after permission was granted to the hospital by a golf course management. She added this will ensure that the hospital has a permanent backup of water.

Meanwhile, as part of the Public Private Partnership (PPP), Tlou said an unused Joe Morolong Memorial Hospital Clubhouse was allocated to North West University (NWU) for refurbishment into student accommodation after permission was granted by the North West MEC for Health, Madoda Sambatha.

“This was promulgated by the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the hospital university. The aim is to place 4th-year pharmacy students in workplace learning and necessitated the need to accommodate them.

“An average of 60–80 students are placed per year for two weeks on rotation at the hospital by the university. The accommodation project will greatly benefit the hospital in the rollout of clinical training as well as community involvement in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District with the focus on workplace learning in a clinical setting,” said Tlou.

She said the hospital will also benefit from the refurbished clubhouse through the accommodation of other clinicians and also the use of a multi-function conference/training room. Tlou said after the refurbishments, the student house will accommodate 12 pharmacy students.

“The water supply project is estimated to take 6 months to complete, which entails water pumps, treatment plant of water, construction of water pipes from the borehole to the hospital, and the construction of a reservoir, while the refurbishment of student accommodation is expected to take 12 months to complete.

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Picture: Five suspects nabbed for attempted murder in Kuruman/Supplied 

By OBAKENG MAJE

Five suspects aged 24 and 47 were arrested by the police in Northern Cape for attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm, kidnapping, resisting arrest, and failure to stop a vehicle on a reasonable instruction of a police officer. According to Northern Cape police spokesperson, Sergeant Timothy Sam said the police dealt tactically with a dangerous situation in Kuruman on 18 June 2023, following a reported murder case in Maruping village, near Kuruman.

“The police were on the trail of suspects, who were allegedly involved in the murder of a man (42) in the early hours of Sunday morning in Maruping village.

“The SAPS Tactical Response Team (TRT) and the Flying Squad members under the Command of Captain Chumani Yono, were mobilised in order to effect the arrests,” said Sam.

He further said, the police traced the suspects along the Mothibistad road while in transit and stopped their vehicle. Sam added that, however, the suspects failed to adhere to police instructions and sped off.

“The police gave a chase and one of the occupants in the suspect’s vehicle was spotted pointing an object resembling a firearm at the police. A shoot-out ensued that brought the suspects’ vehicle to a halt and one occupant was wounded.

“During a thorough search of the vehicle, the police discovered two more occupants in the boot, who were believed to be the murder suspects the police were tracing,” he said.

Sam said one suspect, who was wounded, later succumbed to his injuries in hospital. He said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is investigating the circumstances surrounding this incident.

“All suspects will appear in the Kuruman Magistrate’s Court soon. The management of the police is committed to the enhancement of service delivery in crime combatting initiatives, the reaction time and apprehension of perpetrators in medium to the high-risk incidence of crime,” said Sam.

Meanwhile, the acting Northern Cape Police Commissioner, Major General Mmantsheke Lekhele applauded the police for their swift response and the tactical manner, in which they approached the situation without any police being injured.

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