Ingogo clinic a white elephant?

The first thing one might notice about the Ingogo Clinic is its solitude.

Once billed a facility ‘to provide the health care facility to heal and eradicate the latest diseases to the community and surroundings’, the absence of residents is startling.

Staff are still present, waiting calmly for patients who might never come.

Although the clinic was completed in the early part of last year, the facility has not yet been made accessible to the community of Ingogo, making it a R14-million white elephant.

Even the staff are uncertain why the clinic is not yet operational.

A walk through the clinic shows everything is spick and span, albeit bare, while furniture in the permanent residences behind the clinic remain wrapped in plastic.

The only truly functional portion of the clinic is the front gate, where a security guard monitors comings and goings.

In an article previously published in the Advertiser, the tender bid for the clinic was awarded in 2011 at a cost of almost R13-million, and was set to include a landscaped garden.

The clinic itself features consulting rooms, restrooms, a staff kitchen and a number of offices.

Inside the permanent homes, one would find a kitchen, bathroom, main bedroom and a living/dining room area, which will be closed off from a second bedroom with partitions.

Previously, the Department of Works said employees had been trained in occupational health and safety.

All queries relating to the clinic were referred to spokesman for the Madadeni Hospital, Gcina Dube, yet no official response was received at the time of going to print.

Meanwhile, staff and the Ingogo community continued to shake their heads in frustration.