Cape Town - The City of Cape Town on Sunday said it faces an uphill battle to maintain health services in the face of ongoing crime and gang-related violence.
Siyabulela Mamkeli, Mayoral Committee Member for Health, City of Cape Town said crucial health services were being hamstrung by crime and gang violence.
“I am gravely concerned about the growing impact of crime and gang-related violence on the City of Cape Town’s Health Directorate,” Mamkewli said. “The bulk of our services are rendered in areas where violence and crime are a daily reality, placing our staff, clients and communities at large at risk.”
The City said the recent protests linked to the land invasions in Khayelitsha forced the early closure of both the Nolungile and Site C Youth Clinic while protesters also allegedly stoned a laboratory courier service vehicle, delaying the collection of specimens from City Health clinics.
“Nearly every other week, the City’s clinics in Hanover Park and Manenberg have to close early because of sporadic gang shootings in the vicinity of the facilities,” he said. “In the Tygerberg sub-district, at least five of the 11 facilities have endured temporary closures in recent months as a result of violence or vandalism. Numerous incidents have been reported, including staff being hijacked or threatened by gang members, rival gangs clashing inside facilities, or constant shooting in the area surrounding clinics. Staff members and clients at the Wesbank Clinic in Kuils River have had to endure a similar situation.
“In the Southern sub-district, vandalism and burglaries continue to be a threat. As a result of these wanton acts of destruction, we were forced to close the Lotus River Clinic in 2014 after repeated incidents of gang violence as well as vandalism of the infrastructure at the facility. Just recently, security guards who are on site to watch the now-empty premises were tied up and held at gunpoint.”
Mamkeli added that in Mitchells Plain, the City’s Environmental Health Office had borne the brunt of criminal acts. “In recent months, cable thieves left the City-owned precinct in Westridge, including the Environmental Health office and clinic without power, telephones and access to the IT network for 26 working days; burglars stole five computers and four flat-screen monitors; and damage to the radio link in one of the buildings once again affected access to the IT network and had to be replaced at a cost of R100 000.
“These are but a few examples of the challenges that City Health and other departments face on a daily basis. It impacts on service delivery, but also affects staff morale. Where residents feel unsafe, they postpone or default on their clinic visits for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. This has negative implications for clients who are on chronic medication, leading to defaulting on treatment, instability of patients’ conditions and possible resistance to treatment, among other things. We are also forced to suspend our community-based outreach programmes like immunisation campaigns, tracking of tuberculosis defaulters and Environmental Health safety campaigns until the areas are deemed safe.”
Mamkeli said City Health was investing more than R1 million on security upgrades in the curent financial year and he also wanted to engage with his Safety and Security Directorate counterparts about ways that they may be able to assist in safeguarding of health facilities.
“Ultimately though, we cannot turn the tide without the buy-in and support of the communities we serve. The vandals who leave clinics in darkness, the criminals who target clients and staff, and the gang members who show little regard for anyone caught in their crossfire are not strangers - they live in the very communities that they terrorise and so every law-abiding resident has a duty to speak out against a small minority that is making life difficult for the majority and derailing service delivery to those who need it most.
“I want to appeal to residents to take ownership of their local clinics and other civic infrastructure and report any incidents or threats that they are aware of to the City’s 107 Public Emergency Call Centre. Callers can dial 107 from a Telkom landline and 021 480 7700 from a cellphone (enter the number on your cellphone as a speed dial).”
ANA