4000 Patients Diverted From Bara Hospital Every Month

Bara Casualty Unit

About 4000 medical casualty patients are diverted every month from the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital because of a change of plan with regard to the renovation of the casualty unit.

This is revealed in a written reply to my questions by Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu.

In June last year she announced that the Bara medical casualty would be closed until December as it was being renovated.

Now she says that the Ward was completed on 15 December at a cost of R11 million but it is being used by the trauma unit instead.

Bheki Mlangeni & South Rand Hospitals

No date has been given for renovations to another ward that would allow the reopening of the medical casualty which treats people with heart attacks, breathing problems, fevers and general bad medical symptoms.

According to Mahlangu, there are no problems arising as a result of the redirecting of medical casualties to other hospitals, including the Bheki Mlangeni and South Rand hospitals.

I am astonished that she thinks there are no problems for the 4000 patients sent to lower grade hospitals that are not as well-equipped as the old Bara medical casualty unit.

There are also transport difficulties so that ambulances are tied up with patient transport to other hospitals.

Poor Planning

I find it very strange that the medical casualty ward is renovated and then occupied by another unit that was previously operating in another part of the hospital.

It seems to me that poor planning is delaying the re-opening of the medical casualty unit at Bara.

 

Media enquiries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

082 333 4222

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DA To Visit Eldridge Primary School

Today, 3 March 2016, DA Gauteng Shadow Education MEC, Khume Ramulifho MPL, will conduct an oversight visit at Eldridge Primary School to assess progress of the school infrastructure building project which started in 2013.

Date: Thursday, 3 March 2016
Time: 10:00 am
Venue: Eldridge Primary School, 38 Bokkefeld Crescent, Eldorado Park

There will be opportunities for interviews and photographs. Members of the media are welcome to attend.

 

Media enquiries:

Khume Ramulifho MPL

082 398 7375

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Denver Violence Due To Ward Demarcation

Johannesburg was sparked off by a ward demarcation that would favour the ANC in winning a seat currently held by the IFP.

The hostels are currently in Ward 65 which is represented by an IFP Councillor.

Moving them to Ward 118 which is now held by the DA makes no sense from a geographical point of view as the new ward is strangely shaped and bisected by a railway line.

It looks like an attempt to gerrymander the wards so that the ANC can win Ward 65.

The DA is likely to retain Ward 118 as we had a strong majority there in the last elections, and a largely ANC-supporting area (Malvern) was taken out and put into Ward 65, making it even more likely that the ANC will win that ward instead of the IFP.

I visited the area today and I deplore the violence by hostel residents who burnt vehicles and blocked roads. This is not an acceptable way to protest the demarcation.

It does appear, however, that there was inadequate consultation and this needs to be rectified so that there is fairness in the ward demarcation.

 

Media enquiries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Johannesburg East Constituency Head

082 333 4222

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Tshwane grave desecration not over

Less than a month ago my colleague Cllr Lex Middelberg, laid criminal charges against the City of Tshwane for the destruction of more than 600 graves in the Pretoria East Cemetery.

Distressingly, after apologizing for the early February grave desecration at Pretoria East cemetery, Tshwane is again attempting to use heavy construction equipment to flatten the ground over graves, this time at the Zandfontein Cemetery.

The DA has, in our possession, a “media notice” issued by the City on 25 February 2015. In language that is eerily similar to the so called Pretoria East Cemetery community engagement, this notice states that the City wishes to inform members of the community of scheduled maintenance work that will commence on Tuesday, 8 March 2016. The notice continues to use the exact wording used during the Pretoria East Cemetery debacle when it states that “the work to be executed entails leveling of soil, installation of irrigation systems and grass planting.

Many families of buried deceased have not been informed of the proposed “maintenance” work as the City had not communicated with families again.

It is abundantly obvious from the work to be carried out, that it cannot be completed without substantial and in some cases irreparable damage to the graves. The previous incident of “maintenance” at the Pretoria East Cemetery led to the city’s workers obliterating graves, damaging numerous tombstones and actually destroying or removing some tombstones and shrines built and maintained by grieving city residents. In addition numerous grave markers of graves that had not yet had a tombstone erected were simply scraped away, leaving numerous graves totally unmarked and not unidentifiable by families.

Cemeteries are places of respect and it is the duty of the city protect and preserve the dignity of those who are vulnerable for reason of the feelings they experience when they visit the graves of their loved ones.

The City has previously violated the rights of families and the DA will move to press further criminal charges should grave desecration continue at the hands of the City of Tshwane.

The DA is committed to ensure fairness in Tshwane, by bringing change in this year’s election.

 

Solly Msimanga

DA Mayoral Candidate for Tshwane

083 612 0492

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DA To Visit Eldridge Primary School

Tomorrow, 3 March 2016, DA Gauteng Shadow Education MEC, Khume Ramulifho MPL, will conduct an oversight visit at Eldridge Primary School to assess progress of the school infrastructure building project which started in 2013.

Date: Thursday, 3 March 2016
Time: 10:00 am
Venue: Eldridge Primary School, 38 Bokkefeld Crescent, Eldorado Park

There will be opportunities for interviews and photographs. Members of the media are welcome to attend.

 

Media enquiries:

Khume Ramulifho MPL

082 398 7375

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Gauteng Loses R91 Million To Financial Misconduct

Public Service Commission

The Public Service Commission has revealed that financial misconduct by senior government employees over the last five years in the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) has cost residents of the province R91 million – with only 0.06% of this money being recovered.

Across the GPG only four departments in the 2014/15 financial year concluded performance agreements with employees which would hold them accountable for financial misconduct.

In the 2013/14 financial year, 126 senior managers were identified as having companies “in business” – leading to a potential conflict of interest. In 2014/15 this number increased to 165.

The Commission uncovered a business of a senior employee doing business with the GPG in 2013/14, and two in 2014/15.

Action Against Staff

The departments of Education, Economic Development and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs were named to be of particular concern. The commission emphatically recommended that the relevant MECs take action against staff and accounting officers who fail to address these issues and recoup the funds.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura must ensure that all MEC in the GPG are instructed to root out financial misconduct and recover funds that have been stolen from residents of this province.

Service delivery and the improvement in the quality of life for all of Gauteng’s residents, particularly those living on the fringes and the economically excluded, will not become a reality if the state is captured by a handful of self-serving individuals.

 

Media enquiries:

John Moodey MPL

DA Gauteng Provincial Leader

082 960 3743

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70 Cooperatives Lose Out On Economic Growth Opportunities

Gauteng Department of Social Development

The Gauteng Department of Social Development failed to assist 70 cooperatives through workshops aimed at increasing their financial viability and sustainability.

The 3rd quarterly report presented by the department indicates that only 394 out of a targeted 464 cooperatives attended these crucial workshops.

This is a clear indication that this administration lacks the proactivity and leadership necessary to encourage more cooperatives to attend empowerment sessions.

Township Economy

The Social Development Department has a critical role to play in the Gauteng Provincial Government’s 30% procurement target which aims to strengthen the township economy.

This target will remain an abstract vision if the department excludes those it is meant to bring into the fold.

Cooperatives, particularly those within disadvantaged communities, create much needed work opportunities for low skilled workers.

The DA will continue to closely monitor the Department to ensure it meets its objectives and that the economically excluded are brought in to the economy through programmes designed to empower them.

 

Media Enquiries:

Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Social Development

060 558 8297

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Dentist Chairs Broken For Three Years At Lenasia Clinic

I am astonished that the three dentist chairs at the Lenasia Clinic in Extension 13 have been broken for three years.

I discovered this yesterday when I visited the clinic after receiving a complaint from an elderly patient that dental fillings are not done there as there is a problem with the dental chairs.

He was told to go to Lenasia South clinic which is 10 kilometres away and he cannot afford the transport as he is a pensioner.

Only one of the chairs can be adjusted for height and is used for tooth extractions only.

None of the chairs can be used for tooth fillings as there are no suction pipes.

This disgraceful situation has lasted for three years as the Gauteng Health Department has failed repeatedly to fix the chairs.

I saw a brand new dental chair that was delivered in November last year but has not been used because it is not functional.

This is incompetence of the highest order. Can you imagine a private dentist only doing extractions because his equipment doesn’t work?

Local patients are highly inconvenienced by having to go to Lenasia South clinic for fillings where there is a two month wait for an appointment.

I have requested Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu to get the chairs fixed as soon as possible.

(Photos available on request)

 

Media enquiries:

Jack Bloom MPL

DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

082 333 4222

Herman Mashaba To Engage With Kwa Mai-Mai Residents On Basic Service Delivery

Today, 01 March 2016, DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate, Herman Mashaba and PR Councillor, Bongani Nkwanyana will engage with residents of Kwa Mai- Mai informal settlement on basic service delivery issues.

About 2000 residents rely on one tap for water and have no access to proper sanitation.

Mashaba will present the DA’s plan for Johannesburg to accelerate basic service delivery

Date: Tuesday, 01 March 2016

Time: 12h15

Place: corner Berea and Albert streets, Joburg inner city

There will be ample opportunity for interviews and photographs. Members of the media are invited to attend

 

Media enquiries

Tinyiko Masemola

Media Liaison

076 568 9941

Logistics

Nomzekelo Monakali

Constituency Officer

076 769 0974