After deliberations at a closed Aids council meeting held in Germiston recently, councillors and representatives from the Gauteng Aids Council (GAC) visited communities in Ekurhuleni.
The purpose of the visit was to profile the ward-based, multi-sectoral services rendered by the municipality.
The visits were aimed at giving the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) the opportunity to demonstrate its work in the fight against HIV and AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis and other diseases with the Provincial Government and the GAC.
Members of the council headed to various wards in Ekurhuleni to evaluate the services rendered by the EMM and the standard of care afforded to Ekurhuleni residents.
Sethokga Hostel in Tembisa was one of the stops during the door-to-door visits, where there are residents who are disabled and others who receive chronic medication.
One of the patients visited was 48-year-old Mr Fana Matloa, who recently completed a six-month TB treatment regime. He is also diabetic and unemployed, and thus depends on assistance from government to survive.
Mr Matloa receives support from Naome Malapile, a community development worker in the area who is responsible for ensuring that he takes his medication and also delivers food parcels to him.
“I receive a stipend from the government and food parcels once a month. I witnessed how helpful the state was when I was on TB medication. Without the food parcels, I wouldn’t be able to take my TB medication and I would possibly be dead by now,” said Mr Matloa.
Among the stakeholders present was SASSA. They were there to ensure that residents at the hostel have ID documents and to identify those who experience problems receiving government grants.
The only major concern reported to the Aids Council was the high level of crime and substance abuse in the area.
According to Solomon Chaba, an InDuna (leader) at the hostel, this is because of the high rate of unemployment.
