By REGINALD KANYANE
18 February 2025- The North West Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Health and Social Development conducted an unannounced oversight visit to Upper Majeakgoro clinic, Ga-Mothibi Community Health Centre, Taung In-Patient Centre, and Taung Old Age Home. The oversight visits formed part of the Oversight Week programme that the North West Legislature undertook on the 11-13 February 2025, with the aim to strengthen oversight and public participation while promoting accountability and transparency in government.
The Chairperson of North West Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Health and Social Development, Karabo Magagane said they began with the oversight visit at Upper Majeakgoro clinic, where several infrastructural challenges were found. Magagane said that has left the clinic in a poor state such as a dilapidated building with cracked walls built on a wrong foundation.
She further said the clinic has no ceiling in the rooms. Magagane added that, however, the Operations Manager informed the committee that a contractor has begun with installation of ceilings in January 2025.
“Other major challenges are that there is no electricity due to electrical wiring issues and the building has no running water, which impacts negatively on service delivery. The facility currently makes use of a JoJo tank, in which the staff are forced to draw buckets of water from.
“Additionally, there is no filing clerk in the front office. This function is sometimes performed by nurses, and when they are busy, they occasionally rely on the cleaning staff to retrieve patient files,” she said.
Magagane said as a result of these operational challenges, the clinic failed the assessment required to obtain gold status. She informed stakeholders that the purpose of the visit was to assess the challenges faced by the clinic, as its primary role is to provide proper healthcare to the community and also check preparations in place for the rollout of the National Health Insurance (NHI).
The Guardian 