The Magwedzha clinic in Dumasi village near Thohoyandou in Limpopo has not had running water since it opened 11 months ago. The municipality says the Limpopo Department of Health never applied for a water connection.
The new Magwedzha clinic in Dumasi village, outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo, has been operating for over 11 months without any running water. The municipality says the Limpopo Department of Health never applied for it to be connected to the main pipeline.
Nurses buy bottled water or hand sanitisers to clean their hands. Patients and staff go to fetch water from the old clinic nearby in order to flush the toilets. The old clinic had borehole water.
A staff nurse who did not want to give her name said some patients, such as women going into labour, had to be turned away from the clinic. “We cannot assist them to give birth due to lack of water,” she said.
Limpopo Department of Health spokesperson Neil Shikwambana said the clinic was connected to the municipal system but the municipal pipeline was not bringing water. He referred GroundUp to the Vhembe District Municipality.
But municipal spokesperson Matodzi Ralushai said the mainline pipe had been relocated and the clinic had not applied for a new connection. “The clinic requested to be connected to the water supply line and we told them and the Department of Health officials that they must lodge an application for re-connection with the municipality. But to date we have not yet received an application,” said Ralushai.
He said the municipality could not supply the clinic with water from tankers because the pipe inlets were too high.
“Officials from both the municipality and the health department are aware of the issues and were advised accordingly,” said Ralushai.
Mulatedzi Ramaano, deputy president of Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (HAITU) said the health department should never have moved health services to the new Magwedzha clinic without water. Ramaano said the department did not care about the needs of patients.
Asked why the department had not lodged an application for re-connection to the main pipeline, Shikwambana said he was waiting for information from his colleagues. Despite several attempts to follow up, he had not replied to GroundUp’s questions at the time of publication.
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Suicide Crusher
Interview with a pirate:
There was a pirate who had agreed to do an interview with a local tv station. The reporter was very courteous and professional, giving a bit of background as to the pirate\’s business. She then began interviewing him.
\”So Mr. Longbeard, are there any risks to your business? I see you have a peg leg- how did that come about?\”
\”Well, y\’see I were sailing along the coast of South Africa, looking to plunder some locals when as I boarded the small boat from the ship, a great white shark came up and got my leg clean off. \’twas scary yes, but thus is the life of a pirate.\”
\”Wow, that is pretty scary- well, how about your hook? What happened to your hand with that?\”
\”Oh now that\’s quite the tale, y\’see I were fighting a rival pirate, and we had locked swords. We had been fighting for a few hours, and were both terribly fatigued. I had a bit of exhaustion and confusion, and when I went to block one of his sword blows, I met him with me hand instead of me sword. Took it right off, but it shocked him so much I managed to get him back pretty good and have him submit. So the hook hand was given as a replacement.\”
\”Wow. Simply fascinating. Now, what about your eye patch? How did that happen?\”
\”Well, one day, a seagull was flying overhead, and I looked up. It pooped right in me eye.\”
\”… Well wow. I must admit, I wouldn\’t think just seagull poop could damage the eye that badly.\”
\”Oh, I forgot to mention… it were me first day with the hook.\”
Red Hot Kevorkian
Yebo – yes [yeh-boh] Often expressed as a double positive by combining it with the English “yes” in “Yebo, Yes!” or as an extremely expressive “Yeeebo!” This Zulu word is used regularly in South Africa to show agreement or approval with something or someone.