KAMHLUSHWA – The community of Mdladla marched down the settlement’s main road last Thursday in protest of a project to renovate a clinic they say doesn’t exist.
According to Mr Muzwandile Khoza, chairman of the Mdladla Youth Development (MYD) committee, concrete palisades were erected around the community hall and one of the structures was renovated. When locals enquired about the work, they were given documents stating that contractors were erecting IBT structures and refurbishing the KaMdladla Clinic.
“The project is strange, since we’ve never had a clinic. They can’t renovate something that doesn’t exist. The structure they are building around, is a hall that was donated to the community during the 1980s,” Khoza explained.
The MYD immediately intervened and put a stop to the construction work, to investigate further what exactly the project entailed and if the total allocated budget of R10 million was justified.
“We want to make sure they got fair prices and want to know their exact plan. We deserve proper services,” said Khoza.
A march was arranged for last Thursday morning and dozens of people arrived with placards and passionate spirits.
Local and public-order police, as well as officers from the traffic department, ensured that the protest was handled calmly and orderly.
The group marched about four kilometres down the main road and back to raise awareness.
The community demands a proper health-care centre, instead of the proposed temporary structures. A few gogos approached the journalist at the protest and said they desperately needed a clinic, as they were not always able to travel to the nearest one to get medication and medical attention.
The group embarked on a protest action at the end of August when a stakeholder meeting was postponed after it got out of hand and resulted in a clash with the police. The MYD ensured it did everything by the book to make sure that this march concluded peacefully.
A memorandum with queries, complaints and demands was handed over to Mr David Mdluli, chief health director of the Ehlanzeni District. He promised to attend to the matter and give them feedback.
The group gave him five days to respond, with the deadline being today. Khoza read out the memorandum and concluded by saying the communitty’s protest action was not a rejection of the service, but just to ensure that it gets the proper level of service delivery.
“The government is doing well with our water supply and electricity is just a challenge, not a problem. We want to ensure that we get good health services as well,” he stated.
