The Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, officially opened the new state-of-the-art clinic in Mulenzhe last Thursday (7th). Phaahla stated that the people of Mulenzhe and neighbouring villages would now have much easier access to basic health-care services.
The minister appealed to the communities to take good care of their new clinic. "This clinic belongs to the people of these communities. Treat it like your own property by looking after it. You have a responsibility to guard it against any form of vandalism and to protect the nurses and other staff from criminal activities, ensuring they can provide essential health services in a safe and secure environment. The safety of the infrastructure and health-care workers is our priority, but the department cannot succeed without the support of the community," said Phaahla.
According to Phaahla, communities tended to express their frustration over poor service delivery by vandalising public infrastructure such as clinics, libraries, schools, and roads. "Therefore, I humbly appeal to the people of Mulenzhe to protect this clinic during public demonstrations. The department has undertaken a programme to upgrade our hospitals and clinics to meet specific criteria, ensuring they are not only accessible but also user-friendly for all people. This clinic was designed to meet the criteria of what we call an 'ideal clinic', ensuring it has good infrastructure, adequate staff, sufficient medicine and supplies, efficient administrative processes, and ample bulk supplies to address the health needs of the people," he added.
Phaahla was joined by Limpopo MEC for Health Dr Phophi Ramathuba.
The senior traditional leader of the Mulenzhe area, Thovhele Nkhaneni Ramovha, expressed great satisfaction with the state-of-the-art Mulenzhe clinic. He stated that the residents would now not have to travel long distances to access health services.