Amid the City of Cape Town pumping millions of rands into clinic infrastructure, the Khayelitsha Health Forum (KHF) has called on communities to guard against vandalism of the infrastructure.
The City said security upgrades and scaling-up facilities to ensure they comply with national core standards make up the bulk of the planned capital expenditure for the current financial year, totalling just over R32 million.
The City’s Health Department has budgeted approximately R19 million for security upgrades at clinics.
The upgrades will include measures such as burglar bars and doors, alarm systems, metal detectors and more.
The KHF’s Mzanywa Ndibongo said facilities in Khayelitsha, such as the Zakhele and Kuyasa clinic were in a poor state.
“We don’t even know how they were approved in the first place,” he said.
“Zakhele Clinic was allocated land near Luhlaza High School, but to date we don’t know what is happening regarding that.”
Ndibongo said the KHF was not happy that there was no mention of Khayelitsha in the millions budgeted for upgrades.
He also “condemned” actions of vandalism that saw facilities being set alight in Nyanga, actions that have been linked to amaphela drivers.
“As communities we cannot continue to destroy infrastructure that is there to help us, but we should guard it selflessly instead. We need a sense of activism and protect what service there is in the community.”
Mayco Member for community services and health Patricia Van der Ross said: “Our clinics and other community facilities are not immune to attacks, whether it be theft and break-ins, and the associated vandalism, staff being hijacked as they arrive or leave their places of work or, as we’ve witnessed in recent months, brazen armed robberies.
“The City is committed to ensuring the safety of staff and clients, and we are constantly re-evaluating how we can further enhance security at these facilities.”
She said, however, ensuring these clinics are safe spaces is a shared responsibility.
“It is unacceptable that criminals think they can target the very facilities that their families rely on, and so I call on communities to speak out against these acts, but also to identify those responsible when incidents occur, so they can face the consequences of their actions.”
The City said as part of its drive to increase the number of clinics that meet the national core standards criteria its Health Department has set R12 million aside for that purpose this year.
The core standards are governed by a statutory body – the Office of Health Standards Compliance – which has legislative authority to provide facilities with compliance certificates.
Among the considerations for compliance are facility infrastructure and resources, staffing levels, level of care provided to clients, and patient rights.